Rushville was hosting "Spirit Night" on Monday as the Pirates came to town for volleyball action. The Pirates looked to spoil the night by winning the first two games, but Rushville rallied back to win the match in five games 21-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 15-8.
The Pirates came from behind to win both Game 1 and Game 2.
"I was pleased that we found a way to come back from the two deficits we were in and felt that we could pull out a win in the third for an early night home," noted Greensburg coach Randy Obermeyer. "From there things went very wrong for us, as we just couldn't seem to find a rhythm or an answer for anything that came to our side of the court. The lack of team spirit on the court when things started going sour, caused things to go bad with every player on the court. Mistakes turned into disappointment among each other and they began playing the game like it was new to them. We lost focus on what we were taught at practice, and what we talked about prior the the game beginning."
In the opening game, April Hershauer's kill pulled the Pirates in front 18-17 and Erica Oakley's serves gave the Pirates a 24-20 lead. Holly Kohrman's tip closed the game 25-21.
In the second game, Ciara Hershauer served the Pirates from down 15-14 to in front 19-15. A Carolyn Moore block put the Pirates in front 24-23 and a Rushville netted ball gave the Pirates a two-game lead.
Despite a late rally in Game 3, the host Lions won 25-15.
With Rushville leading 24-18 in Game 4, the Pirates rallied for three straight points (a Moore kill and two Moore blocks), but a net serve gave Rushville the fourth game.
Rushville controlled Game 5 and never allowed the Pirates to get into the game - winning 15-8.
"Even with the disappointing loss, there were winners on our side of the court once again. There were improvements in our blocking tonight, as well as in our passing," noted Obermeyer. "The lessons learned on this long, bumpy, and winding road are many. The motivation to improve each and every time we step out onto the court is the blessing that these young ladies have given me. With the dedication and hard work from these Greensburg athletes, mark my word, Greensburg High School volleyball will become a dominating factor in this area in due time."
The Loss drops the Pirates record to 7-16 on the season as they host Jac-Cen-Del at 5:00 p.m. Thursday.
The reserve Pirates won in two games 25-24, 25-9. Leading the Pirate reserves in serving was Jessica Morris with seven aces. Greensburg fired in 17 aces for the evening. This win is the 5th consecutive victory for the Junior Varsity squad and improves their record to 6-8 on the season.
Greensburg's freshman spikers improve to 8-6 on the season with a 25-13, 25-19 win over Rushville.
The Pirates took an early lead and never looked back in the opening game against the Lions. Michaela Buell had a big night serving six in a row with three aces. Also big at the line was Erica Schwering who went 7-for-7 with an ace and three kills.
The second game found the young Pirates off their game from the slow play and were trailing 15-8 when Buell came to the line and picked up where she left off going 8-for-8 with four more aces to give Greensburg a 16-15 lead. A Lion side out put the game tied at 16-16 and Schwering back at the line serving 7-for-8 with four aces of her own and pushing the score to 22-17. Brittany Jones served two aces to end the game and get the win.
As a team the Pirates finished with 15 aces, 11 kills, 44-for-47 from the line and one block coming from Tasha Heaton.
Next up for the freshman team is a 4-team tourney at home featuring Shelbyville, Batesville, Franklin County and the host Pirates.
Click here to see photographs of the Rushville vs. Greensburg volleyball contest.