CROSSTOWN SWEEP: Lady Maroons take down Somerset

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Pulaski County junior Sammie Blevins (3) attempts to hit the ball past the block of Somerset sophomore Mati Cooper (11) and senior Whitney King (23) during the Maroons' 3-0 victory over the Jumpers on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.

SOMERSET - It's always a good time when the Lady Maroons and Lady Jumpers meet on the volleyball court. Considering more often than not it is a five set thriller as well between the two rivals, and fans were preparing for a classic once again at the Pulaski Gymnasium.

Well, Pulaski seemingly has been playing on another level since last Saturday and continued that on Thursday, with the Maroons never in any real danger of losing this one. It ended up being a Pulaski County sweep, with the home team downing the Jumpers 3-0 in a quick one (25-20, 25-18, 25-11).

Olivia Travis started off the game with two straight aces as the Maroons got out to a quick 3-0 lead. Serenity Haynes finally got the Jumpers on the board with a kill soon after. The teams traded points for a bit, with Sammie Blevins earning two kills and Logan Newman hitting a service ace, before an ace from Maci Phelps tied things up 8-8. A kill from Haynes and an attacking error by the Maroons later, however, and head coach McKenzie McCollum was forced to call for a timeout to get her players composed as they were trailing 11-9.

That timeout proved to be the right call as well, as the Maroons used solid hitting from multiple players, including Blevins and Ava King, to go on a 7-2 run, putting them ahead 16-13 and forcing Somerset head coach Heather Baker to call a timeout. Somerset went on a mini-run out of the break, tying things up 16-16 following an attacking error and a kill from Sarah McBride. Pulaski immediately went on their own 6-0 run, featuring two straight kills from Ella Lancaster, a transfer from Somerset. Coach McCollum was very high on her senior following the game after what was an emotional game for the transfer.

"This whole week she has prepared to make a statement for herself. The whole team was behind her to make sure we'd take home the win," she explained.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Pulaski County senior Ella Lancaster (4) earns a kill past the block of Somerset sophomore Mati Cooper during the Maroons' sweep of the Jumpers on Thursday.

An attacking error finally ended the Pulaski run before McBride was able to rattle off two straight service aces to get her team back into the contest. However, just as soon as they were back in it, the Jumpers had an attacking error to hand the first set to the Maroons 25-20.

In set two, it was all Pulaski early on as the Jumpers kept on making errors on their hitting after a set-opening kill from King. A kill from Lancaster and McKenzie Strunk forced another Somerset timeout as the Maroons saw themselves with a 9-3 advantage. Pulaski continued to pour it on after the timeout, with Lancaster adding another kill and Laney Bramble serving up an ace. Somerset was able to work their way back into the contest by forcing the Maroons into several attacking errors, before another Pulaski run concluded with a kill from Jasper Tingle, putting her team up 17-10 and forcing the second Somerset timeout of the set.

Fresh out of the timeout, King absolutely hammered a spike to earn a kill, with the Maroons soon finding themselves up 21-11. Another Somerset run followed, this one a 6-1 run to trim their deficit to 22-17 after an ace from McBride. However, Pulaski turned up the heat in the final three serves of the set, with Lancaster earning two kills and Blevins also earning a kill to give Pulaski the second set 25-18, with the home team now just needing to win one set to take home a crucial district win.

Travis was able to hold serve over the first seven volleys in the third set, giving the Maroons a 7-0 edge. The first Somerset point of the set was earned on a double hit called on Pulaski, but the trouble continued early for the Jumpers as kills from King, Blevins and Lancaster were followed by an ace from Olivia Atwood and Somerset was forced to call their second timeout of the set down 14-3.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset junior Sarah McBride (left) and senior Tanner Rigney (right) react after an attacking error gave their team a point during the contest between the Lady Jumpers and the Pulaski County Lady Maroons on Thursday evening.

Everything seemingly was going wrong for the visitors before a series of attacking errors and a kill from Alyssa White led them on a 7-3 run to give themselves a bit of a chance at a late comeback. A kill and block combo from King and an ace from Travis later though, and the Maroons all of a sudden sat just five points away from a victory. Somerset was rather disjointed on the attack late, with multiple errors giving Pulaski match point. An ace from Kyndal Putteet ended things on the next serve, as the Maroons celebrated a rather surprising 3-0 sweep over their rivals from just a few miles away. Coach McCollum was ecstatic following the victory, noting the changes she has had to make over the course of the season so far.

"It took several different lineup changes, trying to figure out who to play where, and the tournament we played in last weekend kind of let us finally figure out the right combination. Hopefully this will let us to build a stronger team over the second half of the season, and after a district win, everyone is ready to continue building," she stated.

Pulaski improves to 6-4 and will next host Madison Southern and Wayne County on Saturday. Somerset falls to 4-6 and will next compete at Adair County on Saturday, where they will play the hosting Lady Indians, Breckinridge County and Elizabethtown.