Center Grove celebrates a point during its third-set comeback in Thursday’s match against Franklin.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
At some point during the state tournament in October, Center Grove is going to find itself with its back against the wall. After Thursday night, it should feel confident about its ability to handle such moments.
The Class 4A No. 10 Trojans dropped a tight opening set but showed their resolve the rest of the way, pulling out two extended sets and finishing off a grueling 23-25, 27-25, 37-35, 25-18 triumph over the Grizzly Cubs.
The third set in particular was a meat grinder that featured 16 ties and nine lead changes.
“Games like that — both sides, it’s heart, it’s will, it’s don’t let yourself feel tired,” Center Grove coach Jennifer Hawk said. “That’s what summers are for; it’s just kind of reminding them you train for moments like this, and you don’t get to have them much, so here it is. It’s time to shine. I’ve never seen anything like that.
“It was an amazing battle. Both sides, everything they had. It was awesome.”
The first set was a back-and-forth affair throughout, with some big momentum shifts. The Trojans looked to be in control after a mid-set run — keyed by four Sophia Sabol kills in a five-point span — provided a seemingly safe 21-14 cushion. But the Grizzly Cubs stormed back on the serve of Rose Mahin, who delivered three aces in a row to trim the margin down to two points. A tip by freshman Anabelle Schembra gave Center Grove a 23-21 edge before Franklin scored the final four points on an Aubrey Runyon kill, a Kate Pinnick ace and two straight kills from Scarlett Kimbrell.
“We’ve worked a lot on serve receive,” Hawk said. “We started the match pretty steady with it … and then we just kind of lost it there those last six, seven, eight points and just couldn’t quite recover.”
Franklin trailed for most of the second set but never by more than five, and a late rally — again on the serve of Mahin — drew the visitors even. Mahin’s fifth ace, followed by a Runyon block, made it 23-23. The Grizzly Cubs fought off two set points and tied the game for the eighth time at 25-25, but the Trojans were able to put it away on a Sabol kill and a Sheridan Young service ace.
A 7-0 run on Maggie Doty’s serve, keyed by three kills from Kimbrell and two from Runyon, helped give Franklin a 14-9 lead midway through the third set, and the Grizzly Cubs continued to ride that momentum until the margin swelled to as large as eight at 20-12. Center Grove, though, fought back with a massive surge of its own, eventually tying it at 23-23 on a Savannah Cook ace and taking the lead on a Schembra kill.
The Grizzly Cubs staved off eight set points and the Trojans four before Center Grove finally closed it out.
“I think the big thing is just trusting in our teammates and knowing that they have your back no matter what,” Center Grove junior outside hitter Ellen Zapp said.
Both teams appeared to be a bit gassed coming out of that seemingly endless battle, as the early part of the fourth set was freckled with some uncharacteristic violations and attacking errors. The Trojans benefited from the bulk of those, taking an 8-3 lead before Franklin called time in an attempt to settle down and find the same response to adversity that it had been able to muster throughout the evening. But while the Grizzly Cubs continued to battle, the sustained momentum-shifting run they needed never really materialized. Center Grove never trailed and finished off the match on Zapp’s 20th kill of the night.
“We just know we can’t relax,” Hawk said of the final set. “That is a very balanced team over there; you can’t relax even though you maybe have a little momentum on your side. We just really stayed focused, paid attention to every contact and don’t let your mind wander.”
Thursday’s win should provide the Trojans with some comfort when it faces tough situations later in the season. After a match like this one, they know they can survive just about anything that’s thrown at them.
“It’s just going to be like, ‘Hey, we’ve already done this before, so we’re just going to pull it out again because we know we can do it,’” Zapp said. “We’ve just got to keep that confidence in each other and that big team trust. I think we definitely built onto that tonight.”
