As close as a Greenwood-Indian Creek volleyball match might have looked on paper, it was even closer on the court.
The visiting Woodmen lost the opening set, but rallied for a 24-26, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 victory behind outside hitters Mya Ayro and Jenna Armstrong to improve to 4-5 on the season.
Ayro, a sophomore, finished with 19 kills, including a right-handed laser to cap off the fourth and final set. Armstrong did her part with 11 kills and four service aces.
“I think we actually started out pretty slow today, and finally got into it,” Woodmen coach Natalie Kitchin said. “I don’t know what the deal was that took so long, but they were able to gather each other and get it done. We would not have the pass, and then we would get the pass and we wouldn’t have the hit.
“Once we got the energy, we kept it a lot better. I think that was the main thing.”
Wanting to push the match into a fifth set, Indian Creek (3-4) played inspired while taking a 19-18 advantage late. It appeared a spike by Indian Creek freshman Faith Wiseman put her squad up two points, but the Braves were called for a net violation, tying the score.
Armstrong served out the match, the Woodmen grabbing back the momentum as Ayro and junior Melia Gorrell teamed up for a block. Ayro then provided a point on a tip over the reach of a pair of Braves players and Armstrong delivered two straight aces to widen the spread even more.
Indian Creek, which had led much of the fourth set, had run out of responses.
Coach Andi Ferris’ club had its share of impressive efforts, led by Wiseman’s 11 kills and nine more from junior Ava McClanahan. Freshman libero Alli Gavin chipped in five aces, followed closely by senior setter Jessie Hart’s four.
“I’m playing two freshmen in major roles, and we’re just young in those spots,” Ferris said. “I just feel like the kids are working so hard and I was so proud of them. There were so many moments where it looked awesome. It looked so good.
“We need to work on our foot speed and our awareness of those big hitters when they’re running slides and things like that. The effort is there. The knowledge is there. We’ve just got to work on those little things to get better.”
Also helping Greenwood to the win were freshman Brooklyn Bell and soph Ella Stiver with nine and seven kills, respectively.
Indian Creek’s next matches are Saturday, when the Braves take part in the six-team Brown County Invitational. The Woodmen return to action Tuesday when they host Martinsville in a Mid-State Conference match.
