Krea Martin
Columbus East was feeling good about itself after being somewhat competitive with the nation’s fifth-ranked volleyball team in Thursday’s loss at Roncalli.
The Olympians, however, took a step back on Saturday when it closed its regular season with four losses in the East Invitational. They fell to the Trinity Lutheran JV 22-25, 25-23, 15-13; Silver Creek 25-15, 25-17; Jasper 25-20, 25-21 and Danville 25-16, 25-19 to finish eighth in the tourney.
“It was really frustrating playing so well against Roncalli and feeling like our lineup was stronger and that the girls were coming together and jelling together a little better as a team, and today was a different day,” East coach Alison Eagleman said. “We just couldn’t seem to get ahead and stay ahead and get the job done.”
Krea Martin led the Olympians (4-27) with 57 assists and 26 digs. Lilah Klei pounded 24 kills, Kimberly Carothers had four solo and two assist blocks and Addison Emery served four aces.
Also for East, Carothers tallied 15 kills, and Anika Jenkins had three solo and 11 assist blocks. Chloe Gill notched 24 digs, and Martin added three aces.
Meanwhile, Class A No. 1 Trinity Lutheran went 3-1 to finish in third place. Trinity beat Bloomington North 25-17, 25-11, fell to Avon 25-21, 25-19 and beat Danville 25-18, 25-11 before topping Jasper 26-24, 25-16 in the third-place match.
“I’m pleased with our level,” Trinity coach Janet VanLiew said. “I thought against Avon, we could have been at a more consistently high level to compete with them. We could definitely compete with them. We just gave them too many points here and there.”
The Olympians are off until Saturday, when they will face East Central in the semifinals of the East Central Sectional. Trinity (23-8) opens play in its own sectional Tuesday against Oldenburg Academy.
“We’re healthy, and we’re doing a lot of things well,” VanLiew said. “Obviously, there’s things we’re going to work on. We have a long list for Monday, but being healthy is the main thing.”
