Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

Raegan Durbin wasn't going to let her team lose on Monday night. And when her team needed her the most, Western Boone's junior star delivered. Durbin had seven kills in the decisive fifth set, leading Western Boone to a 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 13-25, 21-25, 15-12) win over Lebanon. “I take for granted sometimes how amazing she is,” Bragg said of Durbin. “She always get the job done and what makes her so special is that she wants the ball in those situations. Alayna (Christner) really stepped up too and got it done.” The Stars led 2-0, but got pushed to a fifth set, the second time that has happened this year. But WeBo got Durbin going early, getting kills on the team's first two points. With the set tied at four early, Emmerson Gott, Durbin and Ella Shepherd had three-straight kills to make it 7-4. After Lebanon was able to get within 10-8, Durbin had three-straight kills to put the Stars up 13-8, then another to make it 14-9 before they finished it a couple points later. Durbin finished with 39 kills, with Christner having seven and Gott six. Janie Ransom had 48 assists. Bragg said it was good to see several players step up in the fifth, with Gott (four blocks) and Alayna Christner both getting multiple kills in the set. "We know Raegan is our go-to hitter, but we need other girls to step up too," Bragg said. "If we can get that, then teams can't key in on Raegan all the time." While disappointed in the loss, Lebanon head coach Emily Vanatsky was proud of what her team was able to do on Monday night. It was the kind of effort and play the Tigers (6-15, 3-3 in conference)) have been looking for. “That is the team that I knew we could be,” she said. “We have just struggled with some little things and some confidence. Today they showed themselves that they can compete with those high caliber teams. Coming into the match, both teams were looking to rebound after some tough stretches. The Stars (14-8, 4-0 in Sagamore) came into the match having lost four in a row and six of seven, while the Tigers had lost four in a row and nine of 12. The Tigers were also looking for their first win over Western Boone since 2015, and had taken just one set off the Stars since then. “We always say, it doesn’t matter records, when you play Lebanon, it’s going to be a tight match,” Bragg said. “Lebanon played really well, and in those third and fourth sets especially, our serve receive crumbled and they got a run on us.” That belief was shown early in a competitive first set. Neither team led by more than three in the set, with 10 ties. Western Boone led most of the way, but back-to-back kills from Kinley Young (six kills in the set) gave Lebanon a 20-19 lead. But coming out a timeout, Durbin had four-straight kills (giving her 14 for the set) and WeBo closed it out 25-21. The Stars then took the second set 25-17, and appeared well on their way to the win. But after falling behind 4-1 in the third set, the Tigers came roaring back. Using a 15-3 run, the Tigers went up 18-9 in the third before closing it out 25-13. “We got a lead and were able to push through,” Vanatsky said. “When we forced them to take some early timeouts that was a big boost for us and helped us out.” The fourth was similar. Lebanon jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the set, and led 24-16 lead. WeBo rallied to get within 24-21, but the Tigers forced a fifth set. “Our serve receive wasn’t where it needed to be,” Bragg said. “We couldn’t put pressure on their defense and their middle hitter is really good, so they were able to get balls in system, they are going to run her and Sydnie Starkey and have success.” Vanatsky said she thought that little WeBo run at the end of the set made a difference in the fifth. “It killed our momentum a little bit, but our girls wanted it,” she said. “They gave it everything they had. It was just a really competitive match and hopefully we get to see them again in the sectional.” Lebanon has one more match this week, facing Brownsburg Tuesday. They then have three matches next week to conclude the regular season. "Watching this game film will show our girls that it's just a confidence thing," Vanatsky said. "Even though this was a loss, it was a good loss to a really good team. This proves to the girls that they can compete against high caliber teams." Durbin had 11 digs, with Isabel Adams having 10. Western Boone is back in action this week with conference matches against Crawfordsville and North Montgomery, then have a big match with Tri-West next Tuesday. Bragg said there are a few things her team wants to clean up in the final couple of weeks. "We have to work on our passing," Bragg said. "The girls know what they need to do. They keep telling us they know what to do, but actions speak louder than words. I'm confident watching this fifth set that they were able to fix some things and I believe they will keep doing that moving forward." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.