Putnam County sweeps Earlville in regional quarterfinal

Putnam County jumped to early leads in both sets and beat Earlville 25-16, 25-11 in the Class 1A Serena Regional quarterfinal Tuesday on Al Stegman Court. The No. 6-seeded Panthers led 10-3 in the first set after an ace by Avery Grasser and 14-6 after an ace by Kennedy Holocker. Earlville closed to 20-13 behind three kills from Addie Scherer, but an ace and kill by Myah Richardson and two kills by Britney Trinidad finished the set.

In the second set, consecutive kills from Trinidad put the Panthers up 15-5. The Red Raiders cut the margin to seven points before kills by Chloe Parcher, Emberlyn Cwikla, Trinidad and Richardson pushed the lead to 21-8. Holocker recorded the final kill on match point.

Trinidad, a junior, said the team prepared for a competitive match after beating Earlville the previous week. "We just beat them last week, but we knew they would come wanting to get us back," Trinidad said. "We had to come prepared and play well from the beginning to the end. I think we did that." Richardson led Putnam County with 11 kills, 12 assists, five digs, two aces and a block. Trinidad added seven kills, 10 assists and seven digs. Holocker had three kills and 13 digs, Grasser served four aces with two kills, and libero Sarah Wiesbrock recorded 15 digs and three assists.

Earlville was led by Jacey Helgesen with four kills, Addie Scherer with three kills and a block, Liz Vazquez with 11 digs and Payton Actis with six assists. Red Raiders coach Tonya Scherer said her team could not slow Putnam County's hitters at the net. "Our serve receive also struggled tonight and when that happens you don't give yourself a chance to run an offense," Scherer said.

Putnam County, now 20-9-4, advances to Wednesday's 7 p.m. semifinal against host and No. 3 seed Serena. Serena beat the Panthers in three sets on Sept. 21, with the third set going 32-30. "We are excited for a rematch with Serena," Putnam County coach Amy Bell said. "The girls are really playing together and having fun right now." Earlville finished its season at 15-17.

Bell said the Panthers served aggressively and covered the court better than in the previous meeting with Earlville. "We played well defensively and that allowed us to get into system and give our hitters good passes," Bell said. "I thought we did an excellent job of mixing up hitting the ball hard and using tips."