KEWANEE — The Boiler Girls came out on the winning end of a three-set thriller over Mercer County Wednesday night at H.F. Brockman Gymnasium (19-25, 27-25, 25-22).
In game one action, the score was knotted at six before Mercer County reeled off four straight points. A kill by senior Jillian Bennison ended the Golden Eagles momentum.
Kewanee responded with an eight-point run to prompt a Mercer County timeout with KHS on top, 14-10. That run included kills by Emma Ellenberger, Tejhiana Amos and Bennison.
A serving ace by KHS freshman Macee Pickering extended the Kewanee lead, 18-13. The Golden Eagles went on to tie the game at 18. Mercer County then scored the final six points to win 25-19.
Kewanee took an 11-7 lead in the second game, but that was the biggest gap of the action-packed game.
Ellenberger and Mercer County junior Molly Hoffman put on a hitting clinic throughout the second frame. Hoffman had seven kills and Ellenberger put down six. Amos added her fourth kill of the set to tie the game at 25.
A big block by the duo of Amos and Ellenberger gave KHS a 26-25 lead, and a final kill by Ellenberger topped off the 27-25 win. Pickering and senior Avery Yepsen did a good job of setting up the KHS front line.
In the final game of the match, back row specialists Taylor VanWinkle and Marlee Bates were instrumental in neutralizing several kills by Mercer County.
After a serving ace by VanWinkle and a tip by Ellenberger, Kewanee led 16-13. KHS junior Aaliyah Duarte then made her presence known. She recorded a kill, a block and served an ace to give KHS a 22-20 lead.
The boisterous home crowd then erupted when Pickering put down a kill for the final point, giving Kewanee the 25-22 win.
The Boiler Girls are now 4-5 and 0-1 on the young season. They recorded another clean sweep by winning the freshman contest in three sets and the sophomores won in two.
