RUSSELLVILLE - The Lady Indians suffered another setback Thursday night, falling to Eugene in straight sets (25-15, 25-13) at Russellville High School during their Relay for Riley event.
All Relay for Riley t-shirts that were sold went to support the ongoing recovery of Maelynn Cartee.
The Lady Indians started slow in the first set, finding themselves in a quick 7-0 hole, then 13-3. Russellville couldn't set up its offense, resulting in just getting the ball over and that allowed Eugene to set its offense up and attack.
"Passing has been our struggle the whole season, and I think that was part of it," Russellville head coach Jerri Groves said. "We couldn't get any good passes. You can't set the ball if you can't get a good pass to your setter. That's something we've worked on all year and we'll continue to work on it."
Russellville did recover from the deficit, cutting the lead to five midway through the set. The Lady Indians scored five-straight to shrink the Eugene lead to 13-8.
But the Lady Eagles would dominate the rest of the set, pushing their lead to 19-10 and ultimately 25-15.
"We made some mistakes," Groves said. "Nothing that's not fixable, but the girls didn't talk like they should of. In the first game, it took them till about the other team got to eight before they woke up."
Russellville had a better start to the second set, taking an early 5-3 lead, but Eugene went on a 8-0 run to regain control of the match and take an 11-5 advantage. The Lady Eagles only allowed Russellville to score eight more points in the set, cruising to the 25-13 set win.
"We've been kind of in a slump the last few games," Groves said. "They played a lot better tonight than I've seen in about a week in a half. I feel like they're coming out of it."
Eugene's Molly Kraus was a force for her team's offense, recording multiple kills and serving two-straight aces during the Lady Eagles' 8-0 run in the second set.
"We saw Molly this summer, and we knew coming into this game that she would definitely be one of their strongest hitters, if not the strongest hitter," Groves said. "My girls covered some of her hits really well, but she's a great play. They have a great asset on their team."
Russellville's Olivia Windsor recorded two blocks in the contest and Kristen Hallford and Savannah Laird each had a kill.
Russellville (4-8) host Versailles Thursday at 6 p.m., and they'll take part in the Belle Tournament Saturday.