By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – After a startling slap in the face got Jennings County’s complete attention, Bedford North Lawrence’s winning streak came to a quick conclusion.
The Stars struck their blow with a first-set win, but from that point the Panthers did all the major hitting during a four-set triumph on Thursday night. Blame it on the Beldings. There’s three sisters on the Jennings roster, and the youngest two were the unstoppable powers as the Panthers recorded a 22-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-16 win that ended BNL’s surprising seven-match win streak.
Perhaps Jennings (3-1 overall, 2-1 in the Hoosier Hills Conference) was not mentally prepared for these new-look Stars. Once they realized the game was afoot, the Panthers put their foot down on the upset bid.
“We might have caught them by surprise,” BNL coach Aaron Wagoner said. “They were expecting the past. We’re not the past anymore. Either it was going to be a massacre, or we would show up and it would be a dog fight. And that’s what it was. We battled, played well.”
After the first-set message, Jennings had too much firepower. Abrey Belding, a junior and the middle child in the family trio, crushed 21 kills, while sophomore Aylah pounded 10 kills. They were ferocious up front.
“Those two stepped up and played a much higher level,” JC coach LeAna Matern said. “They did a great job. They were a huge part of this win.
“We came in with expectations of not having to give our best effort. They were here to play volleyball, not necessarily to take the win. They realized pretty quickly, it would take a lot more than just showing up.”
BNL dominated that first set, as senior setter Jayden Allen set the tone while directing the attack. The Stars surged to an 18-11 lead, got rocked when Jennings battled back within 23-22, then finished off the stanza with a Sammie Gratzer kill and Sara Williams ace.
After regrouping, the Panthers took over. They roared to a 15-9 lead in the second, weathered a brief BNL comeback as Jenna Allen produced two shots at the net, then closed with kills from the Beldings. In the third set, after BNL battled to an 11-11 deadlock, Jennings surged to a 22-13 advantage as Kaydence Lowman slammed two kills.
In the fourth set, BNL scrambled within 8-7, then Abrey Belding took over at the service line. She had three aces during an 8-point run, and the Stars could not recover.
“Our girls stayed resilient, just little things broke down,” Wagoner said. “We were scrappy, but you get in those ruts.”
Gratzer paced BNL with 16 kills, Jenna Allen totaled 11 digs and 10 kills, Isabella Root added 9 kills, and Williams had 9 digs.
BNL (7-1, 0-1) must now bounce back from a loss for the first time this season.
“It will be brand new,” Wagoner said. “But we’ll get back in the gym and do the work.”
The Stars will host Scottsburg on Tuesday.
