By Les Dixon / Sports Editor
It only took 1st Region champion Marshall County 41 minutes to knock off 13th Region champion South Laurel, 25-11, 25-21, to advance to the quarterfinals of the KHSAA Volleyball Sweet 16.
“Marshall County dictated the action in the first set,” South Laurel coach Kaye Smith said. “The start was a bit tough for us. I think we showed a little bit of inexperience in the beginning.
“We did let them know that we were in this game,” she added. “I really thought we could pull it off, but we just came up short. Our region doesn’t quite get us ready for the state. I don’t think the girls are too upset and I believe they’ll rebound and this will be a good experience for us — I think we’ll be back next year.”
The Lady Marshals (23-12) jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back in the first set, as Jessie Harrison recorded three kills during the opening stretch to give her team a comfortable lead.
The Lady Cardinals (36-5) managed to cut their deficit to eight points (11-3) before Marshall County’s Jordan Reynolds served up four straight points, while the Lady Marshals found themselves ahead, 18-4.
Marshall County took advantage of two consecutive South Laurel errors to wrap up the first set win.
The first set loss seemed to have woke up the Lady Cardinals. Emily Gaines served up five straight points to give her team an early 5-0 lead. South Laurel continued to hold on to a slim edge until midway through the second set when Marshall County went on a 14-5 run to take a commanding 20-14 lead.
Back-to-back kills by Erika Burchett cut the Lady Cardinals’ deficit to 23-21, but consecutive kills by Marshall County’s Leigh Toby and Jessica Milhill wrapped up the win for the Lady Marshals.
Harrison led all players with eight kills, while Burchett’s six kills led the way for South Laurel. Gaines finished with four kills, while Morgan Johnson and Breanna Allen each had one kill apiece.
Marshall County’s Katie Kriesky finished with a game-high 16 assists, while Allen led the Lady Cardinals with five. Gaines led all players with four service aces and five digs.
The Lady Marshals will be back in action today against 9th Region champion Notre Dame (31-8), who defeated 5th Region champion Green County.
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