By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – They’ve been on the doorstep.

The LaGrange Lady Grangers came into Monday night’s volleyball match against Central-Carroll having won just once all season, but they’ve been competitive with nearly every one of their opponents.

The Lady Grangers have been looking for a way to turn things around in one of those close matches, and they

finally made that a reality on Monday in their home gym.

After dropping the first set against Central-Carroll, LaGrange rallied to win the next two sets to capture the region win.

After facing a match point in the third set, LaGrange ended up winning 26-24, and the players enjoyed a well-deserved celebration.

“We’ve been working really hard, coming in for extra practices, and it’s really about having more energy and heart, and I really think that’s going to carry over to future matches,” said one of the team’s leaders, Madison Lewis.

LaGrange head coach Angie Newton is pleased with the progress the team has made, and she was glad to see the players get the pay-off in the form of a victory.

“I’m hoping that it’ll help turn the second part of our season around, and we’ll play as the team we know we can be,” Newton said. “Here lately, we’ve come together and we’ve been playing very well. Tonight, being able to finish, I hope that gets us over the hump.”

In the first set, LaGrange took a 17-16 lead on a Lewis block, but Central-Carroll gained control and ended up winning 25-19.

In the second set, Central-Carroll was ahead 12-11, but LaGrange ran off four straight points to take the lead.

The Lady Grangers continued to stretch the lead, and a kill by Cameron Jones gave them a 17-13 cushion.

LaGrange went up 19-13 on a winner by Lewis, and Emery Davenport later put a shot away to give LaGrange a 22-15 lead.

Hannah Holcomb ended the set with a kill, and LaGrange won 25-17 to set up the third and deciding set.

The Lady Grangers came out strong in the third set, and a winner by Lewis gave them an 11-5 lead.

Back came the Lady Lions, who went ahead 14-13 before Chloe Beall’s kill tied it.

It remained tight for a while, and the set was tied 17-17 when Beall delivered another winner to give LaGrange the lead.

A service ace by Holcomb gave LaGrange a 20-17 lead, but Central hung tough.

The Lady Lions found themselves with a match point ahead 24-23, but a service error gave the Lady Grangers a critical point.

Another Central error gave LaGrange a 25-24 lead, and it was match point once again, but this time for the home team.

During the final rally, a Central player touched the net, giving LaGrange the decisive point.

Lewis was glad to see she and her teammates close one out after all the hard-fought losses.

“We’ve really been focused on pushing to the finish, and just really grinding it out the whole time,” she said.