Thursday’s game will be in Ada’s air-conditioned junior high gym
By Cort Reynolds
The Ada High School varsity volleyball team lost at home in straight sets to Kenton on a warm Tuesday evening, August 22.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped to 2-1 after the 25-14, 27-25, 25-17 defeat. The Wildcat girls improved to 2-0 with the win.
“Kenton had hard servers,” said Ada head coach Kyleigh Woodruff. “We got killed on serve receive passing.
“We couldn’t control our first pass off their serves to be able to run our offense,” she continued. “They kept us off balance.”
Kenton raced to an 8-1 lead in set one before Ada called timeout. The Wildcats kept on surging to a 12-1 cushion before the run ended.
Ada senior Mariah King’s kill dropped in off a Kenton block to make it 14-3. The Wildcats led big when Alyssa Madison made a great diving dig to help the hosts win a point at 18-5.
A block kill by Ada freshman Dailah Preston made it 20-6.
Consecutive kills by Kenton junior Sadie Larrabee put the Wildcats back in front 22-6. Ada rallied briefly but two mis-hit errors helped the visitors close out game one comfortably, 25-10.
Ada led for most of game two, but could not quite finish the set off to tie the match.
A stuff shot at the net by junior Tess Griffith tied it 3-3 early in set two. A Wildcat serve error and a hit miscue gave the purple and gold a 5-4 edge. The Bulldogs led 7-4 when Kenton called timeout.
An Andreasen tip doubled the ‘Cats up, 8-4. Daicy Robinson smashed a kill for a 9-5 bulge. The Wildcats edged within 10-9 behind Mya Good serving before a King kill ended the run.
Kenton tied it 11-11, yet Ada answered with a 5-0 flurry. The visitors inched within 17-16 after a kill and a pair of aces by Larrabee, prompting a Bulldog timeout.
An Ada error tied it, but a fine reaction serve return gave the hosts the lead back. Kenton edged ahead 20-19 and then served long to tie it 20-20.
Two Wildcat hitting errors led to a Kenton timeout, down 22-20. A cross-court Kenton attack just hit the sideline, followed by a service winner to tie it.
A Good ace made it 23-22, and then it was Ada’s turn to call timeout to try and change momentum. A back row kill by Josie Phillips handcuffed Kenton and tied it. A Wildcat hit long to advance Ada to set point.
But a clutch Macee Heckathorn kill tied it 24-24. A freeball passing error gave Ada set point again, but Larrabee reached back to smack a lunging kill that tied it once more.
A serve receive error and a left outside Wildcat attack off an Ada block clinched a 27-25 comeback overtime win for Kenton.
“We couldn’t finish the second set,” Woodruff lamented. “They had a couple of key aces.”
An Alyssa Madison ace started game three as Ada led 2-1. But Kenton won a long rally to go ahead 4-2, followed by an ace. Two errors and a kill inched the hosts within 6-5. A slicing Larrabee kill stopped the 3-0 flurry.
A good serve by Jenna Bassitt tied the game, 7-7. Ada reeled off five straight points, capped by a Robinson kill, to build a 10-7 margin.
Kenton rallied with an 11-3 run to lead 18-13 before a serve error ended the flurry. Ada hung within striking distance down 20-16 after a King kill. But Larrabee answered with a clean kill to the open middle.
A 3-0 Kenton run was stopped by Griffith’s crosscourt kill at 23-17.
But a Wildcat kill was followed by a clean smash to the open back by Heckathorn to end the match, 25-17.
Bulldog senior setter Andreasen dished up 10 assists. She also came up with 15 digs and one ace.
Senior southpaw hitter King led Ada with four kills. Sophomore middle Anna Conley contributed three kills and one block.
Junior libero Jenna Bassitt hustled up 18 digs, She also hit three kills and dealt one ace.
Senior Robinson compiled three blocks and two kills. Junior Griffith amassed five digs and three kills.
Sophomore defensive specialist Madison came up with six digs, one kill and one ace. Senior defensive specialist Phillips added nine digs.
The Ada junior varsity rallied to take the last two sets and win, 2-1. The Ada freshmen also won over McComb, 2-1.
The Bulldogs host Vanlue Thursday in the smaller but air-conditioned junior high gym, since temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-90s.
