BRADFORD – It was senior night for Bradford volleyball players Emily Huggins, Tatyanna Cotrell, Amanda Brewer, Mandi Bates and Kailee Brower, and the seniors didn’t go down without showing a little fight.
Visiting Mississinawa Valley, though, was too strong on this night as the Blackhawks defeated the Railroaders 25-16, 25-11 and 26-24.
“We played a couple of good points, especially in the beginning, and I was pleased with the first two sets we played tonight,” Mississinawa coach Billie Hunt said.
“It was the third set that concerned me a bit. I’m not sure if we just decided we didn’t need to play that hard, but we need to play with energy and hard throughout,” Coach Hunt added.
Bradford stormed out to a 6-0 lead in the final set before Mississinawa would answer and the two teams would battle back and forth.
After the Blackhawks went up 16-15, the Railroaders would regain the lead going up 23-21 and looking to finish off the third set.
However, Mississinawa responded and rallied back, eventually pulling out the dramatic final set win 26-24.
Mississinawa Valley improves to 10-11 overall and 5-6 in the Cross County Conference with one league contest remaining. The Blackhawks will host a tough Arcanum team on Thursday while also recognizing the seniors.
Bradford still remains winless on the season, but that didn’t stop Bradford coach Maddie Armstrong from reaping praise on her seniors.
“I’m really impressed with our senior players. They have grown so much from last year to this year in taking on a leadership role. They have put up a lot of stats this year and have matured and responded well to challenges and competed well. They got stronger as things got harder and never gave up. Off the court these are great ladies. They have big dreams, and I can’t wait to see what they will accomplish in the next five years, 10 years and beyond,” Armstrong concluded.
Bradford will travel to Franklin Monroe on Thursday for the final regular season and CCC match of the year.
