“We hadn’t beat Boyle County in so long ... and to beat them twice in a row, we go to school with our heads held up high,” Vonlinger said.
The Lady Patriots took control of the match just past the midpoint of the first game, when they led 15-12 before outscoring Boyle 10-3 behind two kills and one ace by Kylene Williams, who had seven kills and three aces in all.
They dominated the second game, racing to a 7-2 lead that was never threatened and closing out the match with eight straight points. Vonlinger had four of her six service aces during the closing run, including one that fell right in the middle of the Boyle court on match point.
“We were pleased with how the match went tonight. The girls executed the way they should. That’s what you want as a coach, for the team to execute the strategy you practice, and that’s what we did,” Lincoln coach Amanda Massey said.
Lincoln went 4-2 in a weekend tournament at McCreary Central, but a first-round loss to Adair County took it out of championship contention right away.
“We let one game slip ... that really cost us our opportunity to get a trophy, and because of that, I hope that our team has learned a lesson to not let any point slip by unnoticed,” Massey said. “We would like to get to the point where we force every team to get a point from us; we aren’t giving any away. My girls went out with that thought in their mind tonight: We don’t want to give any points away.”
Vonlinger said the Lady Patriots bounced back with a match in which she said their camaraderie and communication were strong.
“Everybody was together, everybody was talking, everybody was happy. If somebody made a mistake there were people cheering them up. We were just really upbeat and ready to play this team,” she said.
Boyle had won two of four matches in its own tournament last weekend, but coach Megan Gatewood said Tuesday’s performance was a step in the wrong direction.
“It was pretty disappointing, especially in light of how well we played on Saturday,” Gatewood said. “We had an injury to one of our starters ... and we had such great support and great teamwork kind of coming out of the woodwork from people that don’t normally get to play. It was really excellent, and I was totally taken aback by their display of strength and teamwork on the court. And then tonight, I don’t know. You have to deal with the ebb and flow of things, I guess.”
Boyle has only one practice before a match Thursday and another weekend tournament at Western Hills, and Gatewood said it should be a good one.
“We know what we need to work on,” she said.
The Lady Rebels lost Emily Hall to a severe ankle sprain, and Gatewood said estimates on when Hall will be able to return range from a week to a month.
“It’s disappointing, because she’s one of the people that has court experience that we kind of rely on,” Gatewood said.
Kaley Jackson had five kills for Boyle.
Lincoln is 2-0 in the 45th District standings with two matches to go against Casey County, which hasn’t played either of its other two district foes yet.
“Our goal is just to keep improving with every single match and to try to get ready for district and region. That’s where we want to be ready,” Massey said.
