CORBIN — James Hendrix’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars will enter next week’s 50th District Tournament with lots of momentum after defeating Corbin, 3-2, for the second time this season in a five-set thriller.
The Lady Jaguars (15-14) have now won three out of their last four matches against the Lady Redhounds (16-7), and Tuesday’s victory marks the first time since 2002 that North Laurel defeated Corbin twice in a season.
“I’m proud of the girls for going on the road, facing a tough region opponent, and scrapping out the win,” North Laurel coach James Hendrix said. “We missed a lot of serves early, and we fell behind in the first set. I’m putting a lot of pressure on these girls to serve aggressively, and we made more service errors than what were used to.
“We managed to pull out a tough second set, and then found our groove about halfway through the third,” he added. “We made better passes, took a lot better swings, and just overall felt and looked like a solid team. Excited to get the win. Go Jags.”
The Lady Jaguars will be back in action during next week’s 49th District Tournament while the Lady Redhounds will play South Laurel Monday at 6 p.m. in the 50th District Tournament semifinals.
“I’m extremely proud of the girls and how they played tonight,” said Corbin assistant coach Krystal Jones, who is filling in for head coach Vanessa Ross, who has reportedly been suspended. “They have faced a lot of adversity this week. Unfortunately, we came up short. We’ve made a lot of improvements this week and we’re looking forward to starting district play Monday night.”
Corbin came out and took the first set, winning 25-19, before North Laurel rallied in the second set, winning 29-27.
The Lady Redhounds answered with a 25-23 victory in the third set, but the Lady Jaguars responded again with a 25-20 win in the fourth set before sealing the win with a 15-13 victory in the fifth set.
“Credit to the girls at Corbin,” Hendrix said. “They are a great team and a great group of girls. They will be a force to be reckoned with come tournament time.”
