SAMANTHA SECREST
BY TRAVIS DAVID
Following Tuesday night’s road win against Lighthouse Christian Academy, North Central volleyball coach Mia McCoskey was hoping her team would catch fire and go on a winning streak.
Instead, the Ladybirds caught a sickness.
The team pushed through with one final road contest on Thursday, but fell short against Parke Heritage.
The Ladybirds dropped to 2-4 on the season with the 30-28, 25-18, 25-20 setback against the Wolves.
“Parke Heritage is a scrappy team and was picking up everything we threw at them,” McCoskey said. “But hopefully they don’t pick up the sickness that we have been spreading amongst our team.”
With the majority of her team not feeling close to 100 percent, the Ladybirds’ coach was still proud of the fight her team showed, especially in the marathon of a first set heartbreaker.
“They gave everything they had tonight,” the proud coach stated. “Teamwork was truly the backbone of carrying our team tonight.”
Brynn Varner (15) and Kathryn Ison (9) combined for 24 kills in the loss. The pair of seniors also led the team in digs with 25 combined, as Varner finished with 13.
Junior Samantha Secrest followed up her triple-double on Tuesday with a double-double on Thursday. Secrest handed out 20 assists and prevented 12 shots from hitting the floor.
Hayden Crooks added 10 digs for the Ladybirds.
Serving proved to be a thorn in the Ladybirds’ side in the loss. As a team, North Central finished with 13 serving errors in the match while serving up just six aces.
“That is not like us at all,” McCoskey said of the errors from the service line. “We really felt the pressure (at the line) in the 30-28 loss too. But I am still proud of girls for playing strong and together when I knew they were not their normal selves. Hopefully getting some rest this weekend will get us fired up to get back out on the court next week.”
North Central plays host to South Putnam on Tuesday.
