LIBERTY - It was Senior Night on the Volleyball court as the Liberty RedHawks hosted the Monticello Panthers in league match. Pregame four Senior RedHawks were recognized and honored by the team and crowd. The four Liberty Seniors honored prior to the match were Aubrey Botsford, Cameryn Will, Keisha Ledoux and Mykenzi Willams. In a kindhearted gesture the Monticello Senior Volleyball players were also given recognition. The prematch ceremony brought good energy into the building.

  Set one started out with a hot start from the home RedHawks as they grabbed a quick 9-3 lead. This led to Monticello coach Sheila Burns to call an early time out to settle down the Panthers. Following the time out the visiting Panthers would get back into the set with a run that would see them grab a 14-11 lead. 

  The RedHawks would respond in a competitive back and forth set to level the score 19-19. Monticello would take the next three points to bring the score to 22-19. Liberty coach Hannold would call a time out to try and regroup the RedHawks to not let the initial set get away. The Panthers would hold off the late Redhawk Rally to win the first set 25-22. 

  The RedHawks would not let the first set getting away from them deter them in set 2. The RedHawks would jump out to a quick 8-1 set lead in the second set leading to the Panthers to call a timeout. A combination of strong service, passing and hitting at the net for the RedHawks, combined with Panther miscues led to another fast start to the set for Liberty. Following the time out the Panthers would cut the deficit to 10-9, then level the score to 11-11. The set would settle into a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. The Panthers seemed to be getting tight and tense with some of the unforced errors they were committing. The RedHawks would ultimately prevail and take the second set 25-23. 

  The RedHawks claiming set 2 led to the match being level 1-1. The match would hang in the balance as set 3 was about to get underway following a highly competitive first 2 sets. The start of the third set would see the RedHawks ride the momentum from set 2 and would see them grab a 9-3 lead. This fast lead would lead to a Panther time out and the Monticello coaching staff getting on their team to clean up their play and stay focused in the match.          

  After the time out the Panthers would go on a run to level the score at 14-14. Both teams certainly did not have the cleanest game with several miscues with communication and unforced errors. At times it seemed like both teams were trying to hand the game to the opposing team. The Panthers would go on a late run which gave them a lead 23-19 seeing the RedHawks call a time out. The Liberty coaching staff sensed this was a critical point in the game and match and tried to get their team to respond. The RedHawks would put up a valiant fight; however, the Panthers would prevail taking set 3 25-23.

  The Panthers late triumph in set 3, as the match was up for grabs, led them to a strong fourth set. The RedHawks appeared to have a let down in Set 4 following the hard fought third set. The fourth set would prove to be all Monticello as they would climb to an early 7-3 lead. Well rounded play combined with the RedHawks lack of execution would lead the Panthers to a 18-8 lead during the final set. In route to the Panthers taking set four by the score of 25-13. Game, Set, Match for the Panthers as they would take this league matchup.