Loogootee Jr-Sr High School

The Loogootee Lady Lions picked up another conference victory Tuesday night at home, sweeping the Vincennes Rivet Lady Patriots 25-9, 25-22, 25-20. The win moves Loogootee to 10-5 on the season. The Lady Lions could not have asked for a much better start. Behind the serving of senior Aubrey Gilbert, Loogootee raced out to a 10-0 lead before Rivet scored its first point. The opening run featured several Rivet errors, four kills from senior Alaina Diamond, and three consecutive aces from Gilbert. Rivet never seriously threatened in the opening set. Senior Jocelynn Sims later added a four-point service rally, while sophomore Lydia Hawkins put together a three-point rally. A Rivet error eventually closed out a dominant 25-9 first-set victory. The opening set, however, was not indicative of how competitive the rest of the match would be. Rivet responded by jumping ahead 3-0 in the second set before a Sims pass led to a Hawkins set and a kill from freshman Taryn Brown to get Loogootee on the board. The Lady Patriots extended their advantage to 7-2, but an athletic serve receive from Hawkins kept a rally alive, allowing Gilbert to set up Diamond for a kill that helped turn the momentum. Junior Savannah Green then took over at the service line. Green put together a seven-point rally, including a pair of aces, to turn the five-point deficit into a 9-7 Loogootee lead. The teams traded points and were tied again at 11 before Hawkins delivered another big run from the service line. Her seven straight service points pushed the Lady Lions ahead 17-11. Hawkins also recorded assists to Karmen Wilson and Green during the stretch. Rivet refused to go away, eventually battling back to tie the set at 19-19 and again at 20-20. A Diamond kill off a Hawkins assist put Loogootee back in front, and a four-point Gilbert service rally helped build a 23-20 advantage. Back-to-back Rivet errors finished the set, 25-22, putting the Lady Lions one set away from the sweep. The third set proved to be just as competitive. After several early errors by both sides, a Gilbert-to-Diamond connection tied the set at three. The teams continued trading points until a solo block by Diamond made it 7-7. Loogootee edged ahead 12-10, only for Rivet to tie it again at 12. A setter-to-setter connection from Gilbert to Hawkins gave the Lady Lions a 14-12 lead, but the Lady Patriots responded with three straight points and eventually built an 18-15 advantage. Loogootee answered with big back-to-back kills from Wilson and Hawkins, and the teams found themselves tied once again at 19-19. That was when the Lady Lions made their final push. Over the next five points, Loogootee recorded four kills, with Hawkins handing out three assists and Diamond putting down three kills. With Loogootee leading 23-20, a Rivet error brought up match point. The seniors finished it. Gilbert set Diamond for the final kill, completing the 25-20 third-set victory and 3-0 conference sweep. Diamond led the Loogootee attack with 15 kills, while Hawkins finished with five and Green added four. The Lady Lions' two-setter offense was nearly even in assists, with Gilbert recording 15 and Hawkins adding 14. Gilbert also led Loogootee from the service line with 17 service points and four aces. Wilson recorded 10 service points, while Hawkins and Lauren Nolan each added eight. Nolan finished with two aces. Defensively, Sims led the way with 19 digs. Gilbert added nine, while Nolan and Haylo Harmon each recorded seven. JV Lady Lions Earn Straight-Set Win The JV Lady Lions also had a successful night, defeating Vincennes Rivet in straight sets, 25-12, 25-19. Addison Moore led the team with seven service points and tied Fara Fisher for the team lead with four aces. Harmon added four service points. Taryn Brown led the defense with seven digs, while Rollins and Moore each recorded six. Brylee Bateman led the attack with five kills, followed by Kensleigh Carrico with four. Fisher handed out a team-high seven assists, Carrico finished with six, and Moore added five as the JV Lady Lions completed the two-set victory.