While the McCracken County volleyball program hasn’t spent much time in the First Region this season, back-to-back wins over St. Mary and Paducah Tilghman on Tuesday and Thursday nights have proven that the Lady Mustangs can still dominate local talent.
Both of those wins came in consecutive 3-0 sweeps, with the win over the Lady Blue Tornado resulting in set scores of 25-7, 25-12 and 25-7. The win marked the seventh of the season for the Lady Mustangs, with plenty more volleyball still to play.
McCracken got things rolling with a quick 5-2 lead with dominant kills from the front row from senior Reagan Will and Kambell Dunning and an ace from Emily Hatfield. They would jump up to a 12-4 lead before Hill and Elli Streutker strengthened their presence up front with Lilly Hamilton sprinkling aces in for a dominant 18-4 lead.
Kendall Crass would snag an ace at the 22-6 mark in the first set in an attempt to make a comeback for the Lady Blue Tornado, but McCracken would quickly put the set away 25-7.
The second set was much more competitive through the early points, with a knotted-up score at the 3-3 and 4-4 marks, but McCracken would pull away from there.
Hailyn Hughes would show a spark for the Lady Tornado midway through the set, posting back-to-back blocks above the net, but yet another kill for Streutker would help the Lady Stangs go up 14-8. They would go on a consistent 7-0 run to go up 22-9 and would put the set away a few points later at 25-12 when Dunning slammed home a kill.
Taylor Dugan opened up the final set with an ace to set the tone for the rest of the night. Another ace from Hatfield and back-to-back aces from Mollie Canter would make it a 12-3 lead. With Canter at service, the Lady Mustangs would go on an 8-0 run for a 15-3 surge and would close out the night at 25-7.
McCracken County will go for a quick turnaround to compete in the Quad State Tournament at the Paducah Convention Center this weekend against Hopkinsville and Logan County. Tilghman will look to bounce back next Monday as they travel to Hopkins County Central.