FRANKLIN — Logan County and South Warren kept their seasons alive with sweeps of each of its first round opponents in the 4th Region Volleyball Tournament on Tuesday evening at Franklin-Simpson High School.
Logan County defeated Russell County in straight sets (25-14, 25-12, 25-9) while South Warren knocked off Allen County-Scottsville in three sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-12) to set up a meeting between the two in the Wednesday evening’s semifinal round.
Despite the sweeps of each game, both teams were tested out of the gates as each opponent to Tuesday night’s winners threatened in the first set. The Lady Cougars fell behind 9-2 in the first set of their match with Russell County while the Lady Spartans found themselves tied 20-20 with ACS toward the end of their first set.
“I thought we started off a little slow. We just got back from fall break and are trying to get things rolling again,” Logan County head coach Steven Lyne said. “It was good to get our feet wet again and we will have to make sure that our engine is running right off the bat tomorrow night.”
“It’s good to come down here and get a different environment,” South Warren head coach Justin Griffin said. “It’s a lot different than a regular season game, so it was good to get down early and get used to the atmosphere. Overall, I think we just have some players that haven’t been in this situation, but I think everyone came together and played the best we could.”
The teams will meet in the semifinal round of the 4th Region Tournament on Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm CT at Franklin-Simpson. The winner of that match will advance to play the winner of the night’s first match – which will feature Greenwood and Clinton County – in the 4th Region Championship match on Thursday evening.
“We’re just going to have to come out and be ready to go [against South Warren]. We have to be on our A-game,” Lyne said. “They were the region champions last season, so we have to be pumped and ready to hit them hard right at the beginning.”
South Warren swept both regular season matches against Logan County, but complacence with those outcomes will not hinder the Lady Spartans when it matters the most.
“This is the postseason. You have to win or you go home,” Griffin said. “It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve played them because everyone will come out and play hard tomorrow night.”
Greenwood advanced to the semifinal round with a sweep of Franklin-Simpson on Monday evening, while Clinton County advanced with a win over Glasgow in similar fashion.
MORE COVERAGE
- VIDEO: Logan County coach Steven Lyne/Lady Cougar players ( Part1)(Part 2)
- VIDEO: Russell County coach Sarah Roy/Lady Laker players (Part 1)(Part 2)
- VIDEO: South Warren coach Justin Griffin/Lady Spartan players (Part 1)(Part 2)
- VIDEO: Allen County-Scottsville coach Shelby Keegan/Lady Patriot players (Part 1)(Part 2)
Clay Manlove; @ctmanlove58
