The Chillicothe Lady Hornets volleyball team entered their road match at Excelsior Springs with an undefeated 3-0 record. Early on Chillicothe was forced to overcome deficits in both the first and second set.
The Lady Hornets trailed 9-4 early on, but following a timeout scored five unanswered points to level the opening set. The Lady Tigers would not allow Chillicothe the lead, continuing to hold a slight advantage for the majority of the set. The Lady Hornets got some big plays from Clara Fisher and Mya Oliver to level the score at 21-21 before going ahead 23-21. Excelsior Spring drew even at 23-23 but the Lady Hornets sophomore Kendra Epperson stepped up with back to back kills to finish off the set 25-23.
In the 2nd set, the Lady Hornets once again didn’t play as sharp as they would have liked to begin. This time digging a hole of 14-8. Epperson and Kami Snyder both provided a nice run serving, with several aces and Chillicothe tied the set up at 21-21 just as they did in the first. When the Lady Hornets took a 22-21 lead it was their first advantage in the set since 1-0. Nearly identical to the first set, Chillicothe took advantage on set point giving Epperson a chance from the left side of the net, she attacked the ball with a spike on set point to close it out 25-22.
The Lady Hornets late momentum from the 2nd set carried over into the 3rd, racing out to a large lead. With Epperson serving Chillicothe pushed the lead out to 18-9 and never looked back, cruising to a 25-13 win.
Emmy Lent provided great service to set up her teammates throughout the night, and Finley Hansen was sharp defensively. That duo combined with the highlight kills and aces from Epperson, Fisher, Oliver and Snyder propelled Chillicothe to their fourth consecutive win to open the season. The Lady Hornets will now host the Chillicothe Invitational Tournament this weekend.