CHARLOTTESVILLE — Greenfield-Central finished sets like a team on a seven-game winning streak.
Momentum gathered late in the two most competitive sets of Thursday’s Hancock County volleyball clash between the Cougars and host Eastern Hancock led to a 3-0 sweep and a winning-streak increase to eight.
Greenfield-Central (8-0) defeated Eastern Hancock (7-4) by set scores of 25-22, 25-13, 25-22.
The Royals had come in hot, too, winning seven of their last eight.
They had a 6-0 first-set run to jump out to a 13-10 lead. In the third set they led 20-16, aided by six G-C service errors, before the Cougars finished off the match.
“When it was 20-16, I said to them show everyone in the gym why you are 7-0 right now,” Greenfield-Central coach Candice Wyatt said. “Leave it out on the court. They got the job done, but I was nervous for the first time all season. I knew what we were capable of.”
The first set went back and forth. Prior to the Royals 6-0 run, the Cougars had scored four straight. G-C had two more 4-0 runs later in the set.
Tied 20-20, Greenfield-Central senior Mya Grigsby had her hand in the next four points. On her serve, she had two aces and two kills to give her team a 24-20 lead.
A service error and a kill from Eastern Hancock’s Cami Knight cut it to 24-22, but the Cougars finished it with a kill from Rilee Roland.
The Cougars carried the momentum from that late-set rally to dominant the second set.
“We had a lot of energy and came out ready to go,” Eastern Hancock coach Cory Rainbolt said. “We just couldn’t keep that momentum.
“You put so much energy into that (first set) and to not come out with the win, it takes the wind out of your sails.”
Eastern Hancock regained some of that momentum in the third set. Along with taking advantage of Greenfield-Central’s struggles on the serving line, the Royals got kills from Brooklyn Willis and Kaitlyn Lowes to lead 19-16. A G-C blocking error made it a four-point margin.
After Wyatt’s timeout, the Cougars regained their form.
A kill on a tip by Katie Muegge started the match-ending run. Grigsby had a pair of kills and Roland added a service ace. Up 23-22, Greenfield-Central ended the match on a service ace from Alexis Muegge and kill from Grigsby.
Willis giving back
Wanting to give back to the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital Ascension St. Vincent for the work it did to help her brother, Eastern Hancock senior outside hitter Brooklyn Willis is asking for donations to purchase sensory and therapy toys for patients.
A flyer, which will also be in tonight’s game program for the Eastern Hancock home football game, was in Thursday’s program with a QR code to use to donate. Cash donations will also be available at tonight’s football game.
Willis said she’ll be taking donations for the next three weeks and more information on how to donate is available on all the Eastern Hancock school’s social media accounts, as well as her social media.
“We had a recent Eastern grad go to (that hospital) and my brother went there, too,” Willis said. “We could never find answers to help (my brother) and a doctor there spent extra time to help my family and, it’s made a lasting impact.”
