Kennett volleyball picks things back up with win over Sikeston

Olivia Raspberry from Kennett receives and passes a serve in the final set against Sikeston.

Photo by Kaelin Triggs, Delta Dunklin Democrat

KENNETT, Mo. - The Indian volleyball team beat Sikeston in four sets on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

The 3-1 victory for Kennett came after taking back-to-back losses on the road up north.

They fell to both Cape Girardeau Central and Saxony Lutheran.

According to head coach Kristy Green, they were able to pinpoint what was going wrong and work on the issues in practice. After correcting those mistakes, they snapped the losing streak with a home win over the Bulldogs.

Kennett came out with a commanding first set victory. They took a 1-0 lead after winning the first set 25-15. Olivia Raspberry helped lead this set with three kills to open up the match. She also had two blocks in the first set along with two aces. The Wilson, Isabella and Lillianna sisters also aided the offensive charge in the first set. They both had two kills and one block.

However, the Bulldogs did not go down without a fight. They took the second set in extra points. The close set ended with a 26-24 victory for Sikeston. This win was led by Kennedy Watson from the service line. She went on a seven point service run in the middle of the set and also served the winning set point. Watson led her team with 35 total assists throughout the match. She also had 6 digs and one kill while putting up eight points from the service line.

Despite her efforts and Sikeston’s second set win, Kennett would come back and win the next two sets to snap Sikeston’s four game winning streak.

The Indians won set three 25-17, once again behind the hot hand of Raspberry. She put down three more kills in the third set and one ace. Tayja Carter and Lillianna both had two kills and one block in the third set.

Sikeston fought back again in the fourth set. As Kennett was leading 21-11, Sikeston began to battle uphill. They were able to close the 10 point deficit. Sikeston held the Indians to 23 points while they continued to reel in, scoring nine in a row. This service run was led by Sikeston freshman Leighton Copeland. Copeland led the Bulldogs with 17 kills. She also had two aces, one block and eight digs.

She would help Sikeston’s comeback attempt in the final set, but Isabella helped put down the last two points for Kennett to make it a 25-19 set win and match victory.

Isabelle Wilson had three kills and three blocks on the night. Raspberry led the night with 15 kills and four aces. She also had three blocks. Carter finished the night with five blocks, six kills and one ace.

Along with Raspberry, Baylee Wilcut helped lead from the service line with four aces of her own. With this win, Kennett moves to 16-13 on the season while Sikeston will fall to 8-16.

The Indians had three more regular season games before they will start postseason play at Class 3 District 1 Tournament. The District tournament will start on Oct. 24 with Kennett drawing against New Madrid County Central for the first round.

Their next match will be their last road competition at Twin Rivers on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Sikeston is also approaching the last two games of their regular season which will be on the road. They will face New Madrid County Central on Thursday, Oct. 17 and then play at East Prairie on Monday, Oct. 21.