By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

VERSAILLES — Versailles High School volleyball swept New Knoxville High School at home on Oct. 6. The Lady Tigers last played on Oct. 1 where they went 1-2 in the three games that day.

The Rangers did not go quietly into the night during the match. Versailles would have their runs to gain a five or six point lead. New Knoxville would then come right back to make it a more interesting set.

In the first set, Versailles started off a little slow. New Knoxville was able to go point for point with them to start out. Eventually, the offense started to come alive and the Lady Tigers pulled away.

New Knoxville strung together some points to make it a closer set, but Versailles finished them off to win the first set 25-16.

The same happened in the second set. Versailles came out to an 8-2 to start things off. Before you knew it, New Knoxville was down 13-11. The Rangers kept fighting and put some pressure on the Lady Tigers.

The serving in the second set got Versailles going again and they took the second set, 25-19.

In the first two sets, Versailles had different players step up to help the team win. One time it could be Kirsten Bomholt leading the offense to a win. Another time it could be Brynn Briscoe leading the way with her serving. Head coach Liz McNeilan said one of her team’s biggest asset is having many different players stepping up at different times during a match.

“I love it when the games come together and it’s not the same person every time. That makes it one of our biggest weapons is that it doesn’t have to be (the same person),” McNeilan said. “We’re going in the right direction.”

The third set saw Versailles looking to close out the match early. It started close again, but the Lady Tigers gained momentum as the set went on and they did not give it up. The blocking, the attacking and the serving all worked together for them.

Versailles won the third set, 25-15, and completed the sweep.

Before the game, the team honored Bomholt as she reached a career milestone on Oct. 1. She has reached 1,000 career kills while at Versailles.

“When she walked in when she was a freshman, you knew she was going to have something special. For her to be able to reach that milestone is huge. I’m super proud of her and super proud of the team. You can’t do it without all those people behind you,” McNeilan said.

The team is now 14-5 on the season with a 5-2 conference record. After a game against Jackson Center High School on Oct. 8, Versailles will host Marion Local on Oct. 11. It will be a great match for them as they get ready for tournament play.

McNeilan said the team is starting to learn different things in each game as they approach tournament time. New Knoxville was a test that helped them learn about themselves a bit.

“It’s always good to be tested. It’s always good to learn, ‘What’s our next plan? What’s plan B if plan A is not working?’ We’ve been talking a lot about that in practice and I think the girls have taken it head on and with confidence,” McNeilan said.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]