KENNETT, Mo. - The Kennett Indians faced off against Malden’s Green Wave in a four set volleyball match on Thursday evening.

The Green Wave took set one with a 26-24 victory. Kennett was leading 24-21 before Malden forced three set points to tie up the competition at 24.

Needing to win by two, Malden went on to score two more unanswered points, giving Kennett their first dropped set of the season. This run was led by Sophomore Middle Hitter Carsyn Cohen who led the team with four kills in the first set. Through four sets, Cohen finished with eight total kills on the night. She was helped out by her teammate Mariah Loya, a senior, and Khyrie Mathies, a junior. They combined for 12 assists throughout the match. Mathies recorded nine of those assists.

Despite losing the first set, the Indians came back with commanding victories in the next two sets.

According to Kennett’s head coach Kristy Green, it was all about keeping their composure after losing the first set.

“I just told them to settle down,” Green said. “I told themI told them to run the offense a little differently. Just little things, like get a drink and settle down, but ultimately be a team and build each other back up. We’ve been working on elevating each other and lifting each other up when they are down.”

The second set was won by Kennett 25-12, while they also took the third set 25-13.

Kennett Sophomore Olivia Raspberry put down five kills in the second set along with two more in the third to help give the Indians a 2-1 lead over Malden. She recorded 13 total kills through four sets.

This was also formed by the assisting hands of Ella Gardner. Gardner, a junior setter and outside hitter, led the team with 22 assists on Thursday night. She was also able to pull out two digs and seven kills of her own.

The match headed into the fourth set with the Green Wave looking to force a fifth. However, the Indians led 18-14 before Kynsley McCaig went on a six point service run, making the score 24-14 with a match point. Malden tried to climb the deficit, but a blocking error gave the Indians a 25-17 victory and their fifth straight win.

McCaig led the team with four aces. She also picked up 14 digs. Junior libero Baylee Wilcut followed right behind with 12 digs and an ace in the first set.

With the win, head coach Kristy Green was happy her team got a challenge and lost the first set. She was eager to see how they would react and come back from a 1-0 deficit to a harder opponent.

“[Malden] was picking up everything we tried to put down and they were hustling and making plays,” Green said. “Even in the last three sets, when we were still winning, they were making it hard for us. That's good for us, especially going into this weekend and into the last half of our schedule, to learn how to dig and fight for those points,”

After this match, both teams will travel to Cape Girardeau for the SEMO Dig for Life tournament. This tournament will have schools all over the Southeast Missouri area competing.

According to Green, this competition against Malden helped them figure out how to fight through longer rallies and have the right attitude while doing so.

“This made them get a little smarter volleyball IQ and dig a little deeper for their win,” Green said. “I’m proud of them. We hate to drop a set, but we have to get used to that level of play which we will see this weekend, and at conference and at districts.”

SEMO’s Dig for Life volleyball tournament will be played on Friday, Sep. 13 and Saturday, Sep. 14.

After the tournament, Kennett will host Scott City on Monday, Sep. 16 while Malden will travel to play Portageville.