Phil Friend
Frankfort Times Sports Editor
BLUFFTON - Clinton Central hung tough in a closely contested match with Southwood, but were unable to catch the breaks in a 3-1 loss to the Knights Saturday morning in the opening round of the Class 2A Bluffton Regional (27-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15).
The Bulldogs (22-12) held leads in every set, but according to coach Jessica Barrentine, compounded miscues spelled doom.
"I don't think our team recovered well from errors," she said. "I think we let one error become two and three and so on. Also, we had trouble just getting off to a good start. The last couple of games, we dug ourselves a big hole and had to fight out of it."
Central appeared to be well on its way to a victory in the first set, racing out to a 10-4 advantage in the early stages before Southwood (29-6) burned its first timeout of the contest.
Heather Tolson tallied a pair of aces in the initial surge, Wendy Pullen added an ace and Shelby Wilson was able to find a seam in the defense for a kill from the middle. Tolson served up another ace out of the timeout, and assisted a Hadley Orr kill from the outside as the Bulldogs took their largest lead of the set at 13-6.
The Knights began to reel Central in, however.
A pair of Hannah Kirk kills and an Abby Kirk ace highlighted a stretch where Southwood closed to within two at 17-15 before the Bulldogs burned a timeout.
Kills from Kelsey Neal and Orr helped Central stretch its advantage back out to five at 21-16, but Southwood closed the set on an 11-4 run to steal the win. Three kills from Abby Harness were key in a stretch where the Knights knotted the score at 23. Another Neal kill gave Central the lead back at 24-23, but a pair of miscues allowed Southwood to take its first lead of the set at 25-24. Wilson chipped in with a tip kill at that point, but another pair of Central errors capped off the first set.
Southwood held a 5-1 advantage early in the second set, but service errors then plagued the Knights.
Three straight serves into the net gave Central new life at 11-11 and a Tolson tip kill put the Bulldogs up one at 12-11.
The lead would change hands three more times in the frame, but Central closed out the second set victory with kills from Jenna Pelling and Orr.
Southwood raced out to a 12-4 advantage in the third set before the Lady Bulldogs called timeout to regroup, and gradually chipped away at the Knights' advantage.
Wilson slammed home another pair of kills and Pelling served an ace to help tie the set at 19. A pair of Southwood attack errors gave Central its first lead of the set at 22-21.
That first lead would prove to be the only lead, as Southwood finished off the set on a 4-0 run.
A Pullen ace helped Central take a 2-0 advantage, but the fourth set mirrored the third, as the Knights pulled away early, starting the set on a 12-4 run. The Bulldogs would not get closer than six the rest of the way.
"I think we are a very gutsy, strong team and we were very determined," Barrentine said. "Part of the way some our season has gone is that we have been up and down and had to get ourselves out of those situations. They played hard, though. I will never doubt that about my team."
Tolson distributed 23 assists for the Bulldogs while Neal pounded out a team-high 13 kills. Orr and Pelling, meanwhile, each added 14 digs.
Central will lose Neal, Tolson, Pelling, Pullen and Wilson to graduation.
"They epitomize what a senior class should be as far as leadership, play and leading by example," Barrentine said. "We are going to lose a lot with the seniors, and we are going to have to work hard to even come close to replace what we are losing. But, I think we will find a way. We usually find a way every year."