Tiger Cubs top Eagles, reclaim Paddle

In describing the Greencastle and South Putnam volleyball match on Tuesday night there is a plethora of story lines.

Did Greencastle get revenge for the loss in the Putnam County Tournament? Yes.

Did the Tiger Cubs dominate the first two sets of the match? Yes.

Did the third set showcase some excellent volleyball? Yes.

Regardless of the storyline, Greencastle took the Putnam County Paddle home with a three-set sweep 25-12, 25-13, 25-23.

The Tiger Cubs improved to 14-8 on the season and have a 6-1 conference mark, while the Eagles dropped to 9-8 and 4-2 in the Western Indiana Conference.

The Cubs took the first two sets in dominating fashion, but to add to the intrigue of the match, South Putnam’s Danae Cline and Madison Gardner missed the first two sets as they were attending the Lilly Scholarship Dinner and almost lifted the team to a victory upon their return in the third set.

“They are a tough team when they have all their complement of players,” Greencastle coach Denise Meyer said. “Congratulations to those girls (Cline and Gardner) on a big picture decision. This is a game with a net and ball, that (Lilly dinner) is for life. We found a way and did what we were supposed to. We had a lot of people playing well.”

The two teams battled pretty evenly early with the Cubs taking a small early lead, but Elliana Cox had a pair of kills to tie the score at 4-all early on.

“Elliana stepped up. When she gets rolling, she is really good,” South Putnam coach Ellen Houser said. “We talked to the girls about how we would have a different lineup tonight and we were a team. I thought they responded, but Greencastle was really good.”

The Cubs went on a 16-2 run following that tie score with Allie Landry serving, setting, and sizzling at the net. The junior had an ace, three kills and was setting up various teammates as the main setter in that first game. The Eagles battled back to get within 23-12, but Greencastle finished the set 25-12 and a 1-0 lead.

“Allie is one of those girls who wants to touch every single ball. You want that in your setter, she has such a drive,” Meyer said.

Greencastle exploded out of the gate in the second set. Landry started the set with two aces and the Cubs continued their hot streak with Makenzie Creviston picking up four kills in the run that sparked Greencastle to a 19-6 lead. The Eagles fought back some as Cox picked up a couple of points from the left, but they could not get back into the game as the Cubs finished the set on top 25-13.

“This game was a blessing! When our teammates are at something far more important than a game, you come together. I thought we fought hard and did some good things,” Houser said.

The final set was indicative of the competitiveness of these two squads. Sparked by the return of their seniors, the Eagles jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Greencastle would not allow South to get away though. Rhoan Amis and Hayley Owens picked up kills and eventually the Cubs tied the score at 6-all on a Creviston kill. The two teams battled evenly with different players stepping up. Chlara Pistelli had a pair of kills, while Keely Amis was matching her as neither team could get a big lead, but a Laya Mullin point forced a Cub timeout with the Eagles leading 14-11.

Lillian Emmerich had three straight points for South after the timeout and boosted the Eagle lead to 19-14, but Greencastle rallied with seven straight points behind Keely Amis kills and Deasia Tyeler nailing two big aces to give the Cubs a 21-19 lead.

“We had a freshman (Reagan Labhart) come off the bench and get some good swings in. A sophomore, Deasia Tyler played really well,” Meyer said.

The Eagles would take a lead at 22-21 as LJ Switzer and Emmerich picked up back to back points, but fittingly as well as she played, Landry had three of the final four points for the Cubs including the final two kills in the set for a 25-23 victory that saw several long rallies featuring fantastic digs by the respective liberos and multiple great hits from everywhere on the court and every spot.

Meilani York went over 1,000 digs last week and it was announced tonight that the Eagles’ Cline went over 1,500 digs last week against Indian Creek. That highlighted the defensive skill of both teams.

The Eagles will try and rally on Thursday as they host conference-leading Northview in a big matchup. The Cubs will also be at home on Thursday with a contest against non-conference foe Monrovia.