By AMANDA PERKINS, Winona, MO – Winona outlasted Summersville in three sets Thursday night in the second battle of the Wildcats on the season.
“They are a tough team,” Winona head coach Francie McBride said of Summersville. “We went three sets with them the first time we played them, so we knew to expect a battle.”
In the first game, Winona maintained a four-point lead for much of the set and widened the gap late in the contest to win, 25-17.
The teams tied eight times in the second set in a heated battle. It all came down to the end, 24 all, when Summersville capitalized on a service error and added the final point to win, 26-24.
The third set was also tight, as the teams tied seven times. But after being tied 14-14, the host team put up 6 points to Summersville’s 2 to go up 20-16. Then Summersville’s defense held Winona off as they added three straight points, 20-19. But Winona allowed just one more point to take the set, 25-20, and overall win.
“I thought we played with a lot of intensity, but we made critical errors in fundamental things like serving,” said Summersville head coach Dena Keeling. “We had an injured player and they also had an injured player, which kind of messed with the flow. It was a battle and both teams played scrappy and hard.”
Key players for Summersville included Nicole Watson, leader in kills with 7, Laurin Shockley, who had 6 kills and several critical blocks, and Eden Williams with six digs as she served in a new position. Alicia Curlile had 25 assists and Sophie Haynes 14 digs.
For Winona, senior Kyndal Thomason came up strong. “Every time she came in, we gave her the ball and knew she would do something good with it,” said Coach McBride. Thomason had 12 kills. Delaney Hicks had a strong performance at libero and added 27 digs. Lilly Wright had 18 assists and 2 aces, and Anna Cox had three blocks. Coach McBride also noted the solid play of Kiley Counts.
“I felt like in the first set we were playing really well,” said Coach McBride. “We were on top of our game. Then our setter went down, and she is our ace, the center of our team. So I was worried what would happen after that, but the girls came together. It wasn’t perfect; we had kids playing in there who never play in that position and under that pressure, but for them to pull it out, I was really pleased with them. That was quite a battle, and Summersville is such a scrappy team.”
The teams are expected to meet again in district play as second and third seeds. “Every time we face them we know it will be a battle,” said Coach McBride. “They are a good team, so they will give us a tough game every time.”
Summersville drops to 15-12 overall, next facing Eminence in their last home game. Winona will compete in the Ozark Tournament this weekend. They now have a 17-8 record.
