Eagles dust off Vikings in three sets

In a rare Wednesday night volleyball outing, the South Putnam Eagles eased their way to a three-set sweep of the West Vigo Vikings 25-13, 25-13, 25-20.

The Eagles took command of the first set early.

A pair of kills and aces from Elliana Cox had them up 10-4. LJ Switzer recorded three kills in their next run as the hosts were up 15-6 and rolling.

The home service game was keeping the Vikings off balance and unable to get into their offense. South closed it out 25-13.

The Vikings showed a little life to begin set two. Jaycee Elkins had a couple of kills and an ace as they kept close to the Eagles.

South regained composure as Cox added a couple of more kills and its defense started digging out everything.

Switzer added three more kills as South pulled away another 25-13 victory.

The third set was another story. The Vikings battled throughout, taking advantage of a few South Putnam hitting errors to take a 10-6 lead.

After a timeout, the Eagles seemed to regroup. Senior Chlara Pistelli picked up a couple of aces and a kill to notch the set at 12-12.

The key point of the set came on a six-point run by the Eagles. Madison Gardner picked up three aces, Cox two more kills and Lillian Emmerich added one herself to give South some breathing room.

The Eagles were able to hold off the Vikings the rest of the way as, fittingly, the game ended on an ace from Pistelli.

“(West Vigo) wasn’t just going to let us have it easily, which is good for our girls. It was good for our girls to fight back and take control,” said Eagle coach Ellen Houser.

South moves to 3-4 on the season and 2-0 in the WIC. There's not much time to rest as Thursday the Eagles will travel to North Vermillion before a break and a county matchup with North Putnam.

Cox led the attack with eight kills and Switzer added seven. Gardner and Pistelli combined for nine service aces and Emmerich had a block.

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Kills - (SP) Cox 8, Switzer 7, Pistelli 5, Emmerich 4, Gardner 3, Wagoner 2, Mullin 1; (WV) Lindley 4, Elkins 3, Savant 4, 5 with 1

Blocks - (SP) Emmerich 1; (WV) Savant 2

Aces - (SP) Gardner 5, Pistelli 4, Cox 2, Cline 1, Wells 1; (WV) Lindley 4, Elkins 2, Marrs 1