VERSAILLES – Not only were traditional Midwest Athletic Conference rivals meeting Thursday evening, but when Versailles and St. Henry met on the volleyball court the No. 10 and 11 ranked teams in the state in Division III were meeting.
The Lady Tigers, after trailing two sets to one, came back to defeat the Lady Redskins in five sets 25-12,17-25, 24-26, 25-19 and 15-8.
“When we were able to focus on our little games of five and push forward and not allow them to get in our minds at all, we won by five to eight points,” Versailles coach Kenzie Bruggeman said. “We responded well. We were able to let the games we lost roll of our back then we were able to push forward.”
The first set was all Versailles. The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 9-3 lead, forcing a quick St. Henry timeout. Versailles continued the pressure, forcing another Lady Redskin stoppage at 16-9. The orange and black extended their lead by scoring nine of the final 12 points to close out set one 25-12.
Set two began as an even contest. Versailles held a one to two-point lead until the score reached 12-all. St. Henry went on a 13-5 run to close out the game to capture the set 25-17.
Each side now had a set in the win column and were looking to build off that momentum. Set three proved to be a fight to gain control of the match. The score reached 18-18 when the Lady Tigers stretched a lead out to 24-20, looking to have the set. The Lady Redskins went on to score the final six points of the set, though, to gain a 26-24 victory.
Set four saw runs by both teams at the start that led to a 10-10 tie. Versailles, facing elimination, went on a 15-9 scoring run to take the set 25-19 and force set five.
The final stanza belonged to the Lady Tigers. They took control of set five from the get go and would not relinquish their hold on the match. Versailles took set five and the match 15-8.
“This was a team win,” Coach Bruggeman said. “Defense was all over the court.”
