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Kennett pushes Portageville to the limit
Those inside Kennett's high school gymnasium Thursday night were treated to a high level of volleyball competition as the Indians hosted Portageville. It took three sets to decide both junior varsity and varsity matches. Kennett's junior varsity eked out a 25-20, 20-25, 25-22 victory, but Portageville's varsity squad won an absolute thriller, 19-25, 25-18, 26-24, improving to 7-0.
As the scores suggest, every single set of the evening was full of action. In junior varsity play, Kennett jumped out to a 19-10 lead in the first set, but Portageville came fighting back. Soon, the score became 21-18 as the Indians struggled to close out the set. Yet, the Bulldog's deficit proved too much to overcome, and Kennett won 25-20.
The second set was neck and neck from the start. Portageville could only manage a three point lead at 9-7, before Kennett kept fighting back. The set was eventually leveled at 19-19 before the Bulldogs finally gained control, forcing a third set with a 25-20 win.
The Indians took charge early in the third set, storming out to a 9-2 lead before Portageville worked to close the gap. Like the first set, the early deficit was too much to overcome, though not without a fight. The Bulldogs managed 22 points before the Indians could tally the 25 need to win the match.
The varsity squad picked up the action from where the junior varsity left off. Kennett enjoyed a 10-7 lead before both sides began trading point for point. Soon, the set was tied up at 16-16, but an ace from Kenna Hounihan helped propel the Indians to an 18-16 lead. Kennett stretched the lead to 24-18 before winning the set 25-19.
The second set saw Portageville take a decisive lead early on, but not for long. The Bulldogs lead 10-4, but then Kennett closed the gap to 12-11. Portagaville stretched the lead to 15-11 before two consecutive kills from Hounihan brought the Indians back into the hunt.
Kennett found themselves losing 20-17, then Portageville pulled away thanks to a kill from Brittany Besenger, followed by an ace from Molly Frakes. This set the stage for a thrilling third set.
The Bulldogs stormed out to another lead in the third set. Kennett struggled to find sync and rhythm, which only hurt their efforts to come back. The Bulldogs led 7-3 early on. Kennett fought back to a 10-7 deficit, but Portageville's side simply appeared more poised and more organized throughout the set.
At times, the Indians had the look of defeat painted across their faces. They mounted brief comebacks, only to surrender more points to the Bulldogs. Kennett was losing 23-19 before head coach Kristy Green called a crucial timeout.
The Indians left the huddle renewed, quickly earning a point to trim Portageville's lead to 23-20. Another point made it 23-21. Another ace from Hounihan made it 23-22. Then, a spike from the Bulldogs trailed wide, and suddenly the set was tied 23-23. The next serve from the Indian's sailed over the back row and out, giving the Bulldogs a 24-23 lead.
On the next point, a powerful kill from Portageville gave them a 25-24 lead, one point away from winning the match. The final point was hard fought over several touches, but ultimately, an attempted kill from the Indian's sailed out, and the Bulldogs claimed the victory.
After the match, Kennett's squad headed straight for the locker room to start preparing for this weekend's Dig For Life tournament in Cape Girardeau. Meanwhile, Portageville's head coach Barry Branscum heaped praise on an Indians program that always puts his squad to the test.
"In the years I've been coaching...Kennett is a challenge," Branscum said after the match. "I couldn't tell you a time where the matches weren't close all the time. Kennett is very well coached. The girls play hard. Our girls play hard. It's a lot of fun to play Kennett. Kennett is high level competition for us, and we enjoy those games quite a bit."
The Bulldogs are now 7-0 on the season. Part of that success can surely be attributed to the team's experience. The varsity squad has eight seniors, which likely explains why they managed to keep their focus in the heat of battle.
"They've had a lot of success over the years and we have an experienced team from last year," Branscum added. "They were all varsity players last year. We only lost one senior last year, so we have an experienced team. So, it didn't really surprise me that the team didn't get rattled."
Portageville will also travel to Cape Girardeau for the Dig For Life Tournament this weekend. In pool play, they'll face Malden, Saxony Lutheran, and Oran. Branscum said a match against Kennett is just what his team needed to prepare.
"When I found out that this game was prior to the tournament I was pretty excited," Branscum said. "This is high level competition that gets us ready for a tournament, and hopefully for them too. I hope Kennett has a good tournament was well."
The Portageville Bulldogs volleyball team won last Tuesday's home conference match against South Pemiscot in two sets, 25-12 and 25-18.
The varsity team has a 7-0 record thus far.