Hopkinsville corrected the mid-set problems that have plagued them during a five match losing streak and handed district rival Christian County a five set loss Thursday at Tiger Gym. Hoptown had scored 15 points in 10 different sets during its losing streak but only won two of those.
On Thursday, the Lady Tigers were able to push through to claim a 22-25, 26-24, 25-17, 17-25, 15-4 win over the Lady Colonels.
The first set featured seven ties as Christian County used a 6-0 run to build a 21-14 lead. Hoptown answered with a 6-0 run of its own before the Lady Colonels closed out the set for the 25-22 win.
Christian County’s Macy Baker set the tone in the opening set with five kills. She finished the match with 20 kills and six aces.
Hoptown came out strong in the second set, building a 7-2 lead with strong play at the net. Christian County tied the match three times in the set before Hoptown reached set point up 24-19. Baker had three aces to spur a 5-0 run to tie the set at 24. Hoptown was able to score the final two points and claim the 26-24 win.
The third set proved to be a back-and-forth affair with 12 ties. Up 17-16, the Lady Tigers ended the set on an 8-1 win. Alyssa Bearns had three kills during the winning run.
Christian County controlled the fourth set, trailing only once at 4-3. Baker and Paris Buckner combined for nine kills in the set to lead the Lady Colonels. Hailey Hallmark kept the Lady Tigers close with five kills and a pair of blocks.
There was no such drama in the fifth set as Hoptown never trailed in picking up their second five-set win of the season.
Hallmark had 15 kills for Hopkinsville and seven blocks. Bearns was used to set the table for Hoptown and had 20 assists in addition to six kills and four aces. Lupita Vieyra added six kills and nine digs.
Aniya McCarley had seven kills and two aces for the Lady Colonels. Buckner had nine kills. Hailey Sparks had five kills and 23 assists.
The game does not count toward district seeding since Christian County won the first match of the season between the schools. Only the first match between district schools counts toward postseason seeding due to KHSAA COVID-19 guidelines.
The Lady Colonels can wrap up the district’s top seed with a win Saturday over Fort Campbell.
Hopkinsville [3-8] will play in the Quad State Tournament Saturday in Paducah, while Christian County [5-4] will host the wRECK at the Plex this weekend in Hopkinsville.
