PONTOTOC – A furious rally came up just short for Pontotoc on Thursday night.
The Warriors dropped the first two sets, then won the next two, but Caledonia ultimately pulled out a 3-2 win (30-28, 25-20, 17-26, 22-25, 15-6) in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs. The Cavaliers will face two-time defending state champion Lafayette in the semifinals.
After winning the third and four sets, Pontotoc (17-16-1) seemed to have all the momentum behind the play of Erynn Boddie and 5A Miss Volleyball Ava Whiteside. But Caledonia (21-12-2) regained control in the fifth set, using a 12-3 run to pull away.
“This season’s really been a rollercoaster, but tonight we were able to put it all together,” Caledonia coach Samantha Brooks said. “And I feel like playing Florence on Tuesday really helped us. We came down from a deficit in the first set, showed us we could fight back, and I think we ultimately just outplayed them, but I thought that was some really good volleyball.”
Caledonia’s plethora of front-row hitters led an attack that racked up 49 total kills, with Bes Sumrall notching 15 and Madison Woody a dozen. And feeding them all night was sophomore setter Isabella Kerstetter, who finished with 38 assists.
“This is her first year on varsity, and she is so mentally tough, and she is mature for her age. The girls have doted on her and really welcomed her into the varsity group,” Brooks said.
After a nail-biting opening set, the Cavs opened up a 15-9 lead in the second and were able to roll to a relatively easy win. But Pontotoc didn’t fold, as Boddie and Whiteside heated up in the third. They kept it going in the fourth set with four kills each but couldn’t carry that momentum into the fifth.
Sumrall had three kills in Set 5 to spark Caledonia.
“Our passers did a really great job of getting the ball up. It was a tough match, but feeding our hitters is one of the most important things, to get the ball on the ground,” Kerstetter said.
Whiteside finished with a team-high 15 kills, while Boddie had nine. Aubrey Robbins and Tara Wilburn also had a strong game, with 17 and 14 assists, respectively.
“At any point they could’ve stopped playing, but they didn’t,” Pontotoc coach Jamie Hayles said. “They showed a lot of heart, showed a lot of grit tonight. We definitely wish it could’ve sent more in our favor, but I’m proud of them.”
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