Southwestern sweeps Pulaski to advance to 12th Region Finals
Oct. 27—For the fourth time this season, the Southwestern Warriors and Pulaski County Lady Maroons faced off in a crosstown rivalry game. At stake in this battle was a trip to the 12th Region Championship game. Southwestern had won all previous three contests between the two teams this season, but both teams had come into this one without dropping a single set so far in the postseason.
It seemed as if the entirety of Pulaski County came out to witness this game at Boyle County High, with both fan bases prepared for a battle between the Maroons and Warriors. Despite tough play from the Maroons, the Warriors were just simply too much to handle, with Southwestern rolling to their second straight 12th Region Championship game with a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-19, 25-11). Head coach Mitzi Jones noted how tough Pulaski County was, but also pointed out how well her team came together late in the game.
"Pulaski is a good team and we knew coming out that they would have a lot of energy and would want to win considering how many times we've played them this year. We didn't really trust each other the first few sets, but eventually we were able to come together and play well in the third set," she stated.
Southwestern was up 6-1 early in the first set following kills from senior Kylee Tucker and sophomore Halle Norvell, as well as two aces from sophomore Chloe Mabe. However, Pulaski would be able to go on a 9-4 spree to tie the set up at 10-10. The Maroons would get three kills and an ace early from junior Maggie Holt, with senior Morgan Keith also adding a kill.
It would be all Warriors midway through the first set, as Southwestern went on a 10-3 run to lead 20-13 with kills coming from senior Baylee Collingsworth and Mabe, and Norvell adding two aces and a kill. Pulaski would fight valiantly to close the gap to just 23-20 following their own 10-3 run, with kills coming from seniors Calli Eastham and Anna Farmer, with Holt once again stepping up with two kills and an ace. The Warriors would close out the set with a 25-22 victory following the set-winning kill from senior Kaylee Young to go up 1-0 in the game.
The Lady Maroons would open the second set on a 5-2 run to gain some quick momentum, following a kill and a block from Eastham and another kill from Holt. Southwestern would immediately respond with a 10-3 run to take a 12-8 lead with kills from Kaylee Young, Collingsworth, Norvell, and junior Payton Acey, as well as a block from Collingsworth.
The middle of the set featured the two teams battling and trading points again and again, with Southwestern holding a narrow 20-16 lead late. The Warriors would have kills scored by Mabe and Collingsworth, with Collingsworth also adding an ace, while Pulaski would be led by two blocks and a kill from Eastham, with Holt adding yet another kill. Southwestern would outscore Pulaski 5-3 at the end of the set to take home a 25-19 win, putting them only one set away from advancing. Senior Kamryn Young would have an ace late, with Acey scoring the set-winning kill for the Warriors.
Once again, the two teams were close in score to begin the third set, with Pulaski trailing slightly at 8-6 early. The Maroons would have two early kills from Keith, with Eastham scoring another block, while the Warriors would have early kills from Norvell, Tucker, and Acey, while Kamryn Young added another ace.
The Warriors took complete control throughout the rest of the set, going on a 17-5 run the rest of the way through to clinch a 12th Region Championship birth with a 25-11 third set victory. Southwestern would be led throughout the rest of the set by kills from Mabe, Norvell, Collingsworth, and Tucker, with Kaylee Young and Collingsworth adding aces for the Warriors. Tucker would score the set and game-winning block for Southwestern.
Southwestern advances to the 12th Region Championship game, where they will take on West Jessamine for the second year in a row at 7 p.m. Coach Jones knows her team will have to play their best to have a chance against the powerhouse Lady Colts.
"West is a great team as well. We're just going to have to come out and limit our mistakes, we have to not serve balls out. We have to keep pressure on them the whole game," she expounded.
Pulaski County ends their season with a 27-11 record. Congratulations to the following seniors on outstanding varsity careers: Emily Burns, Ellen Cherry, Abigail Clevenger, Elizabeth Dalton, Calli Eastham, Anna Farmer, Monserrat Guzman, Pearsyn Ingram, Morgan Keith, Halle Mayfield, Seanna Mullins, and Katie Taylor.
The 12th Region All-Season teams were announced before the game as well. The second team consists of: sophomore Kendra Christopher from Boyle County, senior Kylee Burns from Rockcastle County, senior Kamryn Young from Southwestern, junior Sara Beth Gray from Trinity Christian, and senior Ashleigh Messick and junior Rebekah Buchkolz from West Jessamine. The first team consists of: senior Jai Maria Piazza from Mercer County, junior Maggie Holt from Pulaski County, senior Sarah Barron from Rockcastle County, junior Addison Cunnagin from Somerset Christian, sophomore Halle Norvell from Southwestern, and senior Brooke Hager from West Jessamine.
Jacob Pratt is the Sports Editor of the Commonwealth Journal and can be reached at jpratt@somerset-kentucky.com. You can follow him on Twitter @PrattTheNation
