KYLE SMEDLEY
FOR THE HERALD BULLETIN
FRANKTON — Volleyball is a sport determined by energy and work ethic. Sure, a team can be led by an other-worldly athlete, but there are always five other players on the court alongside them.
One player cannot be solely responsible for a program’s success. These unwritten rules were perhaps personified best in Tuesday night’s Central Indiana Conference match between Madison-Grant and Frankton.
Each squad saw at least five different players score points for their respective team in each set, with both the Argylls and Eagles peaking at seven apiece. Although Frankton did not get swept by Madison-Grant, like was the case in September’s Madison County Tournament, the Argylls did emerge victorious 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 25-17).
Each school was represented by a hefty student section, maybe even more Madison-Grant
students than Frankton. Both sections jeered at one another, but Argylls coach Kayla Jump described the conference rivalry as a friendly one.
“It’s the same problems but different schools,” Jump said. “It’s nice to be in that area where you can go and compete and still, in a way, have a friendly rivalry. You want to come out on top in the match, and you have to grind to get there, but it’s not nasty.”
Madison-Grant junior middle hitter Camryn Bolser felt the same.
“I think you can be friendly off the court, and even a smile on the court is no big deal, but you really can’t view them as a friend,” Bolser said. “You have to view them as just somebody across the net.”
She finished the contest with 13 kills, tied for the most of any player on either side with freshman teammate Grace Wood. Bolser helped lead Madison-Grant to a 25-19 win in the first set, but Frankton stormed back for a 26-24 second- set victory.
It was clear heading into the third set the home team had all the energy on its side. Madison- Grant didn’t turn things around until Jump called a timeout trailing 14-9.
“We have people that understand when they’re not playing well, so they revert inward to themselves,” Jump said. “That kind of affects everybody else. It’s their defense mechanism.”
After the timeout, the Argylls outscored the Eagles 16-8 to win the third set. The energy was firmly back in the visitor’s court.
Bolser admitted Madison-Grant has been inconsistent in its positive energy and communication this season, but her solution when things are looking bleak for the Argylls is a simple one.
“I like to call it narrating,” Bolser said. “I just start telling everyone everything that’s happening, and energy just flows through everybody. Once one person picks
it up, then everybody else does.”
That was the case in the fourth set, as Madison-Grant mostly cruised to a 25-17 win with just a few moments of resistance from Frankton.
“We’re really trying to push forth the notion that these girls are a dangerous team when we have high energy,” Eagles coach Hannah Thomas said. “We get in hills and valleys, but when we’re in that valley, we take our time getting back up on top of that hill. By the time that we get back up there, it’s too late.”
The Eagles fell to 13-13 (4-2 CIC) whereas the Argylls improved to 12-9 (4-1). Frankton has lost four of its last five matches, but the Argylls have won four of their last five.
It’s no secret Frankton played its opposition better Tuesday than in the Madison County Tournament, showed most plainly by Alyvia Woodruff’s performance. The senior led the Eagles with six kills, but Thomas feels Woodruff’s determination is what makes her perhaps Frankton’s most consistent player.
“We have girls that are just willing to do absolutely everything and anything that it takes,” Thomas
said. “I think that’s what encompasses a great team.”
Frankton celebrates senior night Wednesday with a match against Tipton (8-10) tentatively set for 7 p.m., and Madison-Grant travels to Alexandria (4-14, 1-4) Saturday for its next match.