INDIANAPOLIS — Mt. Vernon entered Wednesday night’s volleyball contest at North Central High School on a five-game winning streak.
Dating back to last Thursday, the Marauders had wins against Western Boone, Hamilton Heights, Guerin Catholic, and a pair of wins over Heritage Christian.
Over the stretch, they were 12-0 in sets won.
In Wednesday night’s match, they got a taste of their own medicine.
The Marauders were defeated by North Central in straight sets, 25-21, 25-10, and 25-12.
“The energy just wasn’t there tonight, and we weren’t terminating enough of our chances,” Mt. Vernon head coach Samantha Grider said.
The two teams shared a common opponent that earned votes in the Indiana High School Volleyball Coaches Association Class 4A preseason poll, Noblesville. The Panthers, who earned 41 votes themselves and were the first team outside of the top 10, were defeated in four sets, while the Marauders took the Millers to five sets and narrowly lost.
North Central was coming off of a 3-0 win over No. 9 Fishers Tuesday and carried that momentum over against the Marauders.
The opening set of the night was the closest and most competitive for Mt. Vernon, but a slow start allowed North Central to jump out to a quick 5-0 lead.
The Marauders fought back to tie it 9-9 behind kills from Alivia Morgan, Easton Wampler, and Sierra Holverson. The tying point came on a Kate Ferguson ace.
Later in the set, back-to-back kills by Wampler and Sophia Damer gave Mt. Vernon their biggest, and one of their only leads of the night at 14-12.
A few unforced errors by Mt. Vernon and a few aces by North Central allowed the Panthers to outscore the Marauders 13-7 the remainder of the set.
The ending to Set 1 was the beginning of a long night for the Marauders in returning North Central serves.
Three aces in Set 2 helped fuel the Panthers win, and a few more in Set 3 led to another commanding victory. A few more close, diving returns led to confusion and miscommunication from the Marauders and more easy North Central points.
“We were just hesitant and not moving our feet on the serves,” Grider said.
Mt. Vernon held a 6-4 lead early in the second set behind Morgan, Wampler, and Damer kills, but a pair of North Central kills and a few errors by the Marauders led to a 6-0 run.
North Central’s Daya Vestal had a kill to start the run and ended it with another.
Later in the set, the Panthers went on another eight-point run.
With the score 11-8, North Central’s Emery Moore took over serve and held it for the next eight points.
She had two aces over the stretch, and a few North Central blocks during Moore’s serve kept the Marauders scoreless.
After a few Mt. Vernon points, a 6-0 run by North Central ended the set.
The Panthers carried that momentum into Set 3, where they held leads of 6-2, 14-6, and 18-9 before winning it 25-12.
“We’ve just got to find a way to terminate and score and learn to come together and play as a team,” Grider said.
The Marauders will look to bounce back quickly with a home game tonight against rival Hoosier Heritage Conference opponent Pendleton Heights, who just lost a five-set match of its own to Noblesville Tuesday.
The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mt. Vernon High School.
