The UHA volleyball team experienced an up and down weekend at the Toyota of Hopkinsville Western Kentucky Smack Down, finishing 3-2 and 3rd in the Silver division. Victories over Marshall County and Valley were followed by losses to Logan County and Crittenden County, but the Lady Blazers capped off the weekend with a 2-1 win over Owensboro Catholic and now stand at 21-14 overall.
Other than a marathon 32-30 win in the second set against Marshall County, the Lady Blazers cruised through their first two matches with 2-0 results against the Lady Marshals and Valley. Logan County handed UHA its only loss in pool play in the third game, winning 2-0 (25-19, 25-21).
The medal round began with a rematch with 2nd Region foe Crittenden County. The Lady Blazers beat the Lady Rockets 2-1 in the All-A Region title game in late August, but Crittenden would reverse the score on Saturday.
UHA controlled the first set, leading by as many as 8 and winning 25-18. In the second set, back-to-back aces by Lily Hendricks gave the Lady Blazers a 17-11 lead and forced a Crittenden timeout, but UHA couldn’t finish things off. The Lady Rockets stormed back to tie it at 22-22, and were able to go on to a 26-24 win.
The Lady Blazers didn’t trail in the 3rd set until Crittenden nosed ahead at 13-12, but they never led again. The Lady Rockets stretched the lead to 6 and forced a timeout at 20-14, before going on to win 25-19.
In the Silver division consolation final, the Lady Blazers came from behind to beat Owensboro Catholic 2-1. The Lady Aces took the opening set 25-23, but UHA battled back in the second, taking an early 12-5 advantage. The Lady Blazers built their largest lead at 21-14, and held on for a comfortable 25-19 result.
UHA dug deep in the final set, jumping out to a 5-0 cushion and leading 11-5 after a kill by Katie Stevens. They closed the show in style with a 10-0 run to lead 20-10, going on to win 25-12.
UHA will begin postseason play on Tuesday against the Fort Campbell Lady Falcons in the 8th District tournament. The top-seeded Lady Blazers won the match-up 3-0 twice during the regular season.
