By William Adams The Daily Independent
Oct 1, 2024
RUSSELL It wouldn’t be easy regardless of who won Monday’s match between Russell and Greenup County.
The Red Devils earned the hard-fought victory in four sets (25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 25-22) in a match that saw them with big leads and sizable deficits in different parts of the night.
“Before the game, we talked a lot about covering the middle of our floor and defense,” Russell coach Kacie Mullins said. “And we focused all last week in practice about swinging, swinging, swinging. We don’t want to be uncomfortable and start tipping and playing safe. We stressed swinging coming into tonight.”
The Musketeers fought to the bitter end, nearly forcing a fifth set.
“We’re still struggling with finding that confidence,” Greenup County coach Alison Suttles said. “We haven’t had a good program in a while. We’re trying to get these girls to understand that mistakes are going to happen. That’s what we’re dealing with when it comes to winning right now.”
Russell jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but Greenup County pulled within one after a mini-rally from the Musketeers, highlighted by a Molley Keys ace.
A kill at the net by the Red Devils’ Jaycee Hall put out that spark, but both teams traded points from there.
Russell again created separation leading Greenup County to call a timeout after a kill from Sydney Sizemore put the Red Devils up 14-8.
The Musketeers slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually pulling to an 18-16 deficit.
Russell pressed the accelerator down for a 6-0 run to get within one of the set point, 24-16.
Greenup County refused to roll over. With its back against the wall, the Musketeers rallied back to a 24-20 difference that led to a Red Devils timeout.
Out of the break, a Carmin Corey kill put the set away 25-20 for Russell.
Between the first and second sets, it was fitting that Kansas’s “Carry on Wayward Son” played as the Musketeers looked to change their winds of fortune.
Greenup County’s road so far had been a bumpy one, as the offense showed it could score in bunches, but couldn’t prevent the Red Devils from responding two-fold.
Into the second set, Russell was soaring ever higher, claiming a 4-0 lead to start.
The Musketeers powered through the stormy sea of offense and took their first lead of the night with a 5-0 rally.
Both squads stayed neck and neck, with neither able to get a clear advantage.
Greenup County continued to nurse a slight lead, going up 13-10 after a shot from Russell sailed out of bounds, leading to a Red Devils timeout.
It looked like The Musketeers were going to run away with the set out of the break, ballooning their lead to 22-15.
The Red Devils got to a 24-22 deficit, but Peyton Powell spiked the final point across to take the set for the Musketeers.
“These girls are fighters,” Suttles said. “They’re not going to let anybody get on top of them. That’s something we’ve been working hard on, coming back from deficits. They really showed that tonight.”
The pivotal third set started razor close, with neither team wanting to give an inch.
The set was tied 8-8 before a 4-0 run from Russell, highlighted by a Corey ace, had Greenup County calling timeout.
Russell expanded the rally to go up 14-8. After a brief pushback from the Musketeers, the Red Devils went further out to an 18-11 lead.
Greenup County kept fighting back in spurts, but Russell kept the set at arm’s length eventually taking it 25-17 following an ace from Emily Clark, who also collected her 1,000th assist during the match.
With their back against the wall, the Musketeers fired on all cylinders to open the fourth set, blanking the Red Devils 4-0.
Russell quickly erased that advantage with a 4-0 run of its own.
Greenup County repeated its performance to go up 8-4.
Suttles said offensive rhythm is crucial to these offensive runs.
“It’s really important,” Suttles said. “It always starts with a pass. We can’t do anything without a pass. We know our hitters will connect if we get a pass. It comes down to us getting a 1-2-3 punch every time.”
The set remained in that four-point range until the Red Devils called a timeout down 19-15.
Russell pulled within 21-19 out of the break, which led to a Musketeers timeout of their own.
“I’ve coached many teams that, once you’re behind, they get down on themselves,” Mullins said. “That’s one thing about this team, they sometimes play better from behind. But our defense was doing their job, setters were doing their job and it was up to our hitters to step up and get the points. They did that at the end.”
The Red Devils kept applying pressure, eventually taking a 23-21 lead with a big spike from Corey and back-to-back aces from Brooklyn Sizemore.
Russell took the set and the match after a dig from the Musketeers went into the rafters of Marvin Meredith gymnasium and came down away from Greenup County’s reach.
“I feel like we’re really coming together as a team,” Mullins said. “We’re doing our individual jobs and then coming together on the floor, celebrating the good things and encouraging each other after the bad plays. and they’re fighting.”