By Michael Lindsay
The top of the District 7AA volleyball standings are set in stone following Thursday’s showdown in Livingston as the Stone Memorial Lady Panthers defeated Livingston Academy in 5 sets to secure the #1 seed for the upcoming district tournament.
Stone Memorial took the first two sets 32-30 and 25-23 before Livingston Academy rallied to win the third and fourth sets by a 25-19 margin in both, setting up a winner-take-all fifth set to 15 that Stone Memorial won 15-10.
“I texted (Livingston coach) Christie Jenkins before the game and said ‘No matter what, let’s put on a show’ and man, what a game,” said Stone Memorial head coach Tori Permenter. “Both teams came ready to play; what a game.”
Permenter’s message to the Lady Panthers was simple entering the fifth set.
“I sat them down and had them hit that reset button,” she said. “The last 4 sets don’t matter; these are the games you live for and remember. That was so fun, and those girls deserve it.
“Relying on your teammates and believing in yourself is huge,” Permenter added. “After losing the third and fourth, coming in and winning the fifth set, that takes some real mental strength. I’ve got to give it to my seniors; we’re a mature team and I think it showed in that fifth set.”
Lucy Grothe led Stone Memorial with 14 kills along with 12 by Amy Gunderson and 8 from Hailee McDonald.
Thursday’s contest was neck-and-neck from the start as the Lady Panthers won a 45-minute first set, 32-30.
“We have been in tight games all week going to 27, 28 and all the way to 30 against White County on Monday, “Permenter said. “I think that really prepared us for that moment. Having tight games and feeling that pressure and going back and forth was big.”
Livingston held a 14-9 lead in the second set before the Lady Panthers raced back to win the set 25-23.
With a sweep staring them down, the Lady Wildcats answered with back-to-back 25-19 victories in the third and fourth sets.
“It is a hard atmosphere to play in up here,” Permenter said. “Their community shows out and Christie (Jenkins) has done amazing things with their program. They’ve been top two in the district for who knows how long. It’s a testament to how far our program has come and we have to keep working.”
Stone Memorial never trailed in the fifth set as they took a 7-3 lead via a Gunderson block.
Livingston caught up to the Lady Panthers as a Cora Copeland kill cut the SMHS lead to 10-9 before Stone Memorial closed out on a 5-1 run capped off by back-to-back Gunderson kills to win the set 15-10.
The Lady Panthers have secured the District 7AA tournament #1 seed with the victory as they now own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Livingston Academy. Stone Memorial is scheduled to travel to Clarkrange on Monday and district foe Watertown on Tuesday before finishing the regular season at home on Thursday against Kingston.
Next week, Livingston Academy is scheduled to travel to Macon County, Clay County and Watertown to close out the regular season.
