Washington County volleyball exits All-A Classic in first round

Photo by Brandon Mattingly

Junior Morgan Mann taps the ball to an open spot for a point in Thursday’s loss to Bethlehem.

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Washington County volleyball (1-4) hit the road for Fort Knox on Saturday to take on Green County in the first round of the 5th Region All-A Classic, and met a quick exit at the hands of the Lady Dragons two games to none, 17-25, 15-25.

The matchup marked the teams’ second meeting of the young season, and Green County was able to get the advantage in each game with several strong finishes at the net.

Green County, which now sits at 11-0 following three wins in Fort Knox, jumped out to a 15-8 lead behind big hits by Hannah Givens and Emily Green. The Commanderettes picked up their play and tried to rally back, including a nice block at the net by sophomore Halie Browning, but WC couldn’t get the gap closer than five points the rest of the way in a 25-17 loss.

The Commanderettes appeared to be ready to challenge the Lady Dragons in game two, trailing 6-5 in the early-going, but Green County quickly swung the game in their favor with a 10-0 to push the lead to 11. Moments later, a 4-0 flurry by the Lady Dragons, led by three-straight kills by Green, gave them their largest lead of the match at 21-7.

With their backs to the wall, Washington County played its best volleyball of the day, reeling off four unanswered points, including two blocks by sophomore Morgan Mann. They added another 4-0 run on three kills by Mann, pulling within nine points, before the Lady Dragons finished off the 25-15 victory.

WC Head Coach Anne Mudd said she made a few adjustments in her team’s previous two losses that her team didn’t react well to, but seemed to regain their confidence a bit against undefeated Green County.

“We changed everything back for the Green County game and even though we didn’t come away with a win, I feel that they played much better,” she said. “I never feel my girls lay down and I feel they play hard every game. We are just going to have to find a way to stay strong, committed and finish our games.”

The Commanderettes hosted the Bethlehem Banshees on Thursday, falling to defending 19th District champs in three-straight games, 15-25, 23-25, 14-25.

The Banshees got off to a great start in game one with an early 12-5 advantage, and they didn’t let up. The advantage grew to 11 at 22-11, and they closed out the first game with a 25-15 win.

The second game started similarly, but Washington County showed more resiliency than in the first. Bethlehem claimed a 19-10 lead behind a pair of impressive kills by sophomore Mollie Simms, but the Commanderettes responded with a 9-2 run behind Mann’s strong play at the net and the serving of senior Maddie Abell. Washington County pulled within one at 24-23, but couldn’t draw even, as Simms hammered a ball that the Commanderettes couldn’t return to close out the game.

Roles were reversed in the third game, as Washington County jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind Johanna Spalding’s serving. The Banshees pulled it together quickly, however, and evened the score at 10. Washington County back for a 13-11 advantage, but that’s when the game turned into Bethlehem’s favor.

Bethlehem won possession and didn’t turn it back over to Washington County until Molly O’Bryan had served her team to a 9-0 run. The Commanderettes finally were able to stop the bleeding, but not for long, as Bethlehem reeled off another 5-0 run to cap off the game three victory.

Washington County traveled to Elizabethtown on Tuesday after press time, and is scheduled to host Mercer County on Monday at 7 p.m., before taking on Marion County at the Roby Dome on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.