Crowley's Ridge opens season with comeback victory

August 31, 2021

By Dustin Semore, Sports Information Director

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. – Crowley's Ridge opened the 2021-22 season with a comeback victory over the hosting Bearcats of Rust (Miss.) College. After dropping the opening set, the Lady Pioneers fought back in the next three sets to take a 3-1 victory (22-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-21).

Trailing by six halfway through the first set, Crowley's Ridge (1-0) saw Kaitlyn Perkins helm a 3-0 run including a pair of service aces to close the set to a lone point. After battling to a 21-21 tie, Rust (0-1) eked out the set victory to open the season.

"We just didn't give up," said CRC head coach Carissa Winn after dropping the first set. "We've struggled with our mental game and have worked to improve that aspect of our game and we were able to showcase our ability to overcome."

CRC utilized a strong service attack with Brooklynn Passmore and Olivia Deckelman sharing a pair of back-to-back service aces en route to a 25-15 set win to even the match. The Lady Pioneers' strong offense had a match-high 20.8% attack.

No signs of slowing down, the Ridge opened the third set with a 4-0 run to force an early Rust timeout; however, that timeout proved helpful as the Bearcats answered to tie the set at 14-14. Hannah Halverson's four-kill set helped the Lady Pioneers win the set 25-22.

The fourth set was again a back-and-forth battle, but a 7-0 run with Emi Elms at the service line vaulted CRC to the set and match victory 25-21.

Halverson led the Crowley's Ridge attack with 12 kills, followed by Passmore's 11-kill effort. Perkins was deadly from service, collecting seven of CRC's 19 aces. Freshmen Paige Glenn and Jadyn Hesse shared the lone Lady Pioneer block.

Winn continued, "It always feels good to start the season off with a win, it helps set the tone for the rest of the year. I think it also gives a confidence boost for the girls because they are able to see their hard work and potential come to life."

UP NEXT

Crowley's Ridge continues a lengthy road trip to open the season with a visit to Missouri. Friday, Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University hosts the Lady Pioneers at 6 p.m. Traveling to Canton, Culver-Stockton (Mo.) will host Crowley's Ridge and Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College for a tri-match on Saturday. CRC starts at 11 a.m. against Culver-Stockton with an afternoon against SMWC at 1 p.m.