In a three-day span for the Madison-Grant Argylls, the team played three matches against Muncie Central, Taylor, and Tipton, finishing with a 2-1 record.
Against Muncie Central on Tuesday night, the Argylls jumped out to a 2-1 set advantage and were in a position to beat the Bearcats for the first time since head coach Robert Holloway started putting them on the schedule seven seasons ago.
“We’ve had some really good teams in the past, but we have never been able to get over the hump against Muncie Central,” Holloway said. “After winning two of the first three sets, I mentioned to them that they [had the opportunity] to do something [that we haven’t done before.] We have had teams that have won sectionals and regionals and have been No. 1 in the state, but have never beaten Muncie Central.”
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for Madison-Grant, as the Argylls dropped the final two sets to lose the match 3-2.
“I felt like we had a lot of momentum going into the fourth set, but we didn’t serve quite as well and had a lot of hitting errors, [and] in the last set, we did not play well,” Holloway said. “We had a lot of hitting errors right at the beginning and never really recovered. It was frustrating and difficult because we had an opportunity to beat them. We felt like we probably should have won, but we just couldn’t get it done.”
The Argylls had a nice bounce back effort against the Taylor Titans on Wednesday, sweeping them in three sets. The Titans have struggled for several seasons, so Holloway used the opportunity against a weaker opponent to give the younger players some playing time.
“Our kids were pretty relaxed throughout the match, and we got the opportunity to play a lot of young players to get them [some experience] on the varsity level,” Holloway said.
Against the Blue Devils of Tipton the following day, the Argylls used strong passing and serving throughout the match on their way to their second straight three-set sweep.
“Tipton was 24-10 last year, so we knew we were going to have to play well,” Holloway said. “Our passing, particularly serve reception, was pretty good, some of the best we’ve ever had.”
Maddi Evans and Lexi Crouse had another great week for the Argylls, playing strong volleyball both offensively and defensively, while Sloane Stewart continues to work back from her knee injury.
