FORTVILLE — After losing its first contest of the season Sept. 3 to conference foe Delta, Mt. Vernon’s volleyball team got back in the win column Tuesday with a 3-1 victory against visiting Zionsville.
The match, featuring two 6-1 squads and a couple big hitters, lived up to the hype.
The Marauders, who are ranked No. 17 in Class 3A, and Zionsville played a close first set, matching each other point for point. The Eagles held the biggest lead of the opening game, 10-7, but could not hold on down the stretch.
With the score tied at 23-all, Mt. Vernon head coach Eric Bulmahn was forced to call a timeout. What followed was a tipped ball by Jaclyn Bulmahn and an offensive error by the Eagles, giving the Marauders a 25-23 first-set win.
Bulmahn led the offensive attack with five kills in set one.
A quick attacking Zionsville squad jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the second set and was able to put the Marauders away with repeated attacks to the middle of the floor by Katie Isenbarger. Coach Bulmahn burned another timeout with Mt. Vernon trailing 16-21 as the Marauders could not tame the Eagles.
Isenbarger added two more kills and a block to finish the second set, giving Zionsville a 25-17 win while tying the match at 1-1.
Bulmahn stayed hot to open the third set, adding a kill and block followed by two straight aces by sophomore Grace Hurst to give Mt. Vernon a 6-2 lead. And after another Bulmahn kill off an assist by Meridan Eads, the Eagles were forced to take a timeout trailing 14-6.
Annie McCain gave the Marauders a 2-1 match lead with a kill to end the third set as Mt. Vernon handled Zionsville 25-14.
In the fourth and final set, Mt. Vernon’s momentum was too much for the Eagles, as they jumped out to a 13-5 lead en route to a 25-13 win.
The Marauders are now 7-1 and 2-1 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference as the Eagles fall to 6-2.
