NEW PALESTINE — Greenfield-Central and New Palestine stepped onto the volleyball court Thursday night with a combined 18-1 record, and only seven lost sets all season.
But in a battle of Hancock County rivals and Hoosier Heritage Conference opponents, somebody had to leave New Palestine High School with the loss.
The Cougars (10-0, 2-0) defeated the Dragons (9-2, 0-1) in straight sets, 3-0, to remain unbeaten on the season.
“This match is everything to us. We wanted this win so bad, and we knew it was going to be the toughest team we’ve faced so far this season,” Greenfield-Central head coach Candice Wyatt said. “There was a lot of talk between the two schools, and we came out on top. We are so excited, and I couldn’t be happier that we won, and in three sets no less.”
Seeing a three-set sweep, though, doesn’t do justice to the battle between the two sides.
The Dragons held leads late in sets two and three before the Cougars stormed back for wins of 25-21, 25-23, and 30-28.
“It was just execution at the end. We made some unforced errors,” New Palestine head coach Kelli Gabehart said. “I thought we were going to win that second set, but it just didn’t go our way. We battled in that third set too.”
A well-rounded performance by the entire Greenfield-Central team was highlighted by senior Mya Grigsby.
A 20-kill night by the Cougars outside hitter helped fuel the win in Set 1, and the come-from-behind wins in sets two and three.
“It’s tough when you’re playing against Mya Grigsby. She’s insane, and just takes over the match. Every time she gets the ball, she puts it away,” Gabehart said. “You can try and stop someone like her, but she’s all over the place. If you block her one way she’s got other shots, and she just sees the court so well. We scouted her and had a game plan going in, she’s just so hard to defend.”
Six Grigsby kills, including four of the Cougars last five points led to the narrow first-set win. Rilee Roland added three kills and an ace in the set.
Set 2 was all Dragons for the majority of the way.
Three kills each from Hayden Ramsey and Rachel Burke helped New Palestine hold the lead late, 20-14.
Following two late Greenfield-Central timeouts, the Cougars grabbed 11 of the last 14 points.
Kills by Grigsby, Roland, Harper Holden, and Alexis Muegge down the stretch helped the Cougars close things out. In a 23-23 match, G-C grabbed the last two points.
“There’s a reason we’re still undefeated, and it’s because these girls work so hard. They don’t give up even when the home crowd has all the energy,” Wyatt said. “I’m hesitant to call timeouts because I want the girls to work out of it. Sometimes, though, you just want to stop the other team’s run.
Set 3 saw the two sides trade points back-and-forth for the entirety of the set, and included 13 lead changes.
It was also a battle between Burke and Grigsby.
Burke finished the set with eight kills, and after a Grigsby kill gave the Cougars a 25-24 lead, she had the Dragons next four points.
Each time, G-C answered.
A kill by Roland, and three G-C blocks were enough for the Cougars to escape with the sweep.
Grigsby topped her Set 1 performance with nine kills.
“She [Grigsby] looks like she’s as fresh in the third set as she is warming up. She has all the energy, and when she’s on, she’s on,” Wyatt said. “She’s a beast and we rely on her a lot, and she’s the reason we win a lot of games.”
