After sweeping their way through their district and region tournaments, the McCracken County Lady Mustangs were back in action on Monday Night, as they traveled to Bowling Green to take on the Lady Purples in the first round of the KHSAA State Volleyball Tournament. The game served as the rubber match between the two teams, following a pair of meetings earlier in the season; the Lady Purples would win a late August match in three sets, while the Lady Mustangs evened things up with a two set victory towards the end of September. However, with seasons on the line, the size and power of the Lady Purples was just a bit too much for the Lady Mustangs to handle on the day, as their year would come to a close in three sets, 25-15, 25-19, and 25-20.
“We told them in the locker room after the game, sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way,” McCracken County head coach Chancie Coleman said. “Bowling Green’s a great team, and we knew coming in that we were going to be in for a battle. I’m proud of these girls, they fought for every inch tonight.”
To open up the first set, the Lady Mustangs found the quick start they needed, notching three straight points for an early edge. However, they couldn’t keep the Lady Purples under control for long, as after the Lady Mustangs made it 4-1, Bowling Green would string together some points of their own to tie things up at six points apiece. From there, the momentum would continue to skew towards the hosts, as another strong run saw the Lady Purples establish a five-point lead over McCracken. With the Lady Mustangs unable to work their way back into the set, Bowling Green would pull even further away late, taking the lead in the match with a 25-15 victory in the first.
The Lady Purples kept on rolling into the second, forcing McCracken to dig themselves out of a hole early on. The Lady Mustangs would do just that, though, erasing an early deficit to draw back level before taking the lead at 9-8. The lead for McCracken would be short lived, however, with back-to-back points putting the Lady Purples right back out in front. The advantage for Bowling Green would hold through the remainder of the second, as they took a 2-0 stranglehold on the match with a 25-19 victory.
With their backs to the wall, the Lady Mustangs were in need of a strong third set in order to survive. Things would start even between the two, with an impressive kill from Emily Hatfield tucked straight into the back corner of the court tying things at four. Unable to gain the upper hand, though, the Lady Purples would answer with six straight points of their own, as they looked to put the Lady Mustangs away. But, just as soon as McCracken fell behind, they stormed straight back, with a strong run of serves for Lily Hamilton pulling them back within striking distance at 15-14. Eventually, while Bowling Green kept the point advantage over a few more exchanges, a kill for Kambell Dunning brought McCracken back on even footing at 17.
Despite their spirited rally, however, the Lady Mustangs could not take the lead, surrendering the advantage back to the Lady Purples with three straight points for a 20-17 lead. One final comeback would not be on the cards for the Lady Mustangs, as they ultimately fell 25-20 in the third set, drawing an excellent season to a close.
“This group had gone through so much this season, and the fact that they came together and made it to the sweet sixteen says so much about them,” Coleman concluded, reflecting on the year. “The biggest part of this team was how hard they played for each other, how much they cared about one another, that’s how they got this far…They care so much about this program, about each other, this sport, and you can’t ask for much more than that as a coach.”