By SARAH COCHRAN, for the Brown County Democrat
Brown County High School’s varsity volleyball team dominated the courts in the Brown County Invitational. The girls took the championship trophy after straight wins in three matches during the Aug. 26 tournament at the Larry C. Banks Memorial Gymnasium.
Five other schools competed: Greencastle, Edinburgh, Indian Creek, Owen Valley and Bedford North Lawrence. However, the Brown County Eagles never left the main gym floor after the first match against Greencastle, where they were able to secure a win in two out of three sets with a first score of 25-13. This was followed by a close 25-23 win in the second set to take the match.
The second match resulted in back-to-back set wins against Edinburgh High School. Brown County won the first set 25-20 and had an almost repeat performance in their second set, winning 25-21, to take their second match win in the tournament.
The championship match was a nail-biter between the Eagles and the Bedford North Lawrence Stars. The final set was brought to a tie three times, with much of the game in a one-point spread.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]The Eagles started the set strong, keeping ahead with a four-point spread, but the Stars caught up quickly and tied the game at 16-16. The Stars pulled ahead of the tie by one point, and the Eagles rallied, bringing it back to a tie game at 19-19. An out for BNL, followed by a block by Eagle Mekenzie Duncan and then a tip from Haley Davidson, widened the spread to 23-20 in the Eagles’ favor. Still, the Stars were not going down without a fight. They were able to bring the game back to one more tie at 23-23, but the Eagles promptly scored their two points needed to win for a final score of 25-23.
Eagles coaches and players were ecstatic to win their first invitational trophy in three years, said varsity head coach Julie Owens.
“I was so happy with our effort from every player on the team. They all had their moments that made it possible for us to win today,” she said.
Senior player Grace Lee agreed that every player contributed to the win. In her opinion, it was the team’s attitude that gave the Eagles the upper hand.
“I really think that we have changed the way we are doing things this year. We don’t let negativity affect us. We are all positive, even the bench,” she said.
Lee also attributes this positivity to the team’s ability to move forward this season.
“Obviously, we want to win sectionals; that’s our biggest goal, but we want to all work together and communicate because we have had kind of some rough starts with some things. We want to just keep going and get better as we go,” she said.
Assistant Coach Dean Keefauver echoed Lee’s positive outlook on the season.
“We have a lot of really talented young ladies that really have a lot of fight and spirit in them, and I think we can expect some great things this season,” he said.
“It’s going to be exciting.”
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Thursday, Sept. 7 at home against Eastern High School, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 9 at home against Sullivan High School, 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 12 at Hauser High School, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 14 at home against Edinburgh High School, 6 p.m.
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