Sullivan sweeps South Putnam to end September

Sometimes it is just not your night. The South Putnam Eagle volleyball team hosted the Sullivan Golden Arrows in a Western Indiana Conference matchup on Monday night and a slow start, coupled with the aggressive offense of the Arrows, had the Eagles back pedaling all night.

South could not consistently get any offense going and lost in three sets, 25-13, 25-23, 25-22.

The loss dropped the Eagles to 10-10 on the season and 4-4 in the WIC. Sullivan improved to 15-6 and 5-4 in conference action.

South struggled to get on track in the first set and could not consistently score or make enough of a run in the final two sets to offset the Arrow attack.

“We were not at our best, we were not playing our game at all. I don’t think we were tired, it’s hard to say. We didn’t execute anything offensively,” South Putnam head coach Ellen Houser said.

Sullivan took control early in the first set. Senior Jacie Wilson was dominating in the middle, both blocking and being fed for several kills by her teammates.

The Arrows used an 8-1 run take charge with an 11-4 lead before the Eagles responded.

South followed a great rally with a few quick points and cut the lead to 17-11 after a Madison Gardner ace and Layla Mullin kill and a block.

Sullivan’s Wilson then scored three straight and the Arrows cruised to a 25-13 victory.

“We were bothered by their block in the first set, but we should have been able to figure that out. We are a smart team, but we just couldn’t get going,” Houser said.

Sullivan looked like it was going to dominate the second set at the onset by jumping to a 6-2 lead but Gardner had a pair of blocks and Elliana Cox had a pair of aces to tie the score.

The teams battled back and forth with the Eagles stretching a lead to 15-12 before Sullivan’s Wilson had three straight points to tie the game 16-16.

The Arrows maintained the lead and seemed in control with a 23-20 lead before a Lillian Emmerich block and a pair of kills by Cox cut the lead to 24-23.

It was not enough as Wilson ended the Eagle threat and closed the second set at 25-23.

“We played better in the second and third sets, but we just were not playing like we can. We let (Sullivan) get too many easy looks,” Houser said.

The Eagles took an early 5-2 lead in the third set and were able to maintain the lead, stretching it with a 4-0 run to 12-7, forcing a Sullivan timeout.

The Eagles maintained the lead for a little while, holding an 18-12 lead, when the Arrows took their second timeout of the set, and this one seemed to help.

A Wilson kill and an Eagle error jump started Sullivan, and it was able to chip away at the lead, eventually drawing even at 21-21 on another Eagle error.

The Arrows would close the match on a 4-1 run for the 25-22 victory and win the match 3-0.

“We have a couple more weeks before sectionals. I am glad this game wasn’t in the sectional. We will just put this behind us,” Houser said.

The Eagles play again on Wednesday as they will host non-conference foe, Southmont, and travel to Cascade on Thursday for a busy week.