Volleyball wasn't a top priority Thursday night, but the Calvary Lutheran Lady Lions played on.
On short notice, the Lady Lions were able to schedule a match against the Battle Spartans for their Pink Out Game. Calvary Lutheran finished the regular season with a 25-22, 25-9 win against the Class 4 Spartans.
Calvary Lutheran coach Nicole Murphy said she spent a few hours Wednesday night reaching out to about 25 coaches trying to find an opponent for Thursday's match.
"I had a good response from quite a few coaches, saying they wish they could've helped us out, but that their schedule was completely full," Murphy said. "I'm very grateful for Battle for what they did. It was super last minute and they were just awesome about it."
Calvary Lutheran was originally scheduled to host the Russellville Lady Indians on Thursday, but the match was canceled the day before.
Elizabeth Eidson, a Russellville High School student who plays on the volleyball team, died Wednesday morning in car accident. She was 16.
During Thursday's match, Calvary Lutheran players wore blue ribbons in their hair in honor of Eidson, as well as sending cards to offer their condolences to the Russellville volleyball team.
"As a team, we came up with the idea," Calvary Lutheran junior setter Grace Smith said. "We got a card for our team and we got one for Battle. We just decided to come together because we know this is a rough time.
"We play (Russellville) every year, so we have a pretty good connection with those girls."
Calvary Lutheran scored the first six points of the match and didn't trail during the opening set. Jaelyn Engelbrecht had back-to-back kills to stretch the lead to 11-4.
Battle wouldn't go down without a fight, however. The Spartans closed the gap late in the set, trimming Calvary Lutheran's lead to 22-21.
"Battle had a pretty big front row, and their middles were a pretty big presence," Murphy said. " A reason I wanted to get a bigger team in here is New Haven is in our district, and seeing teams that can hit like that is what we're going to see (against New Haven).
"It made me happy we could beat a team like that."
Maddie Layson gave the Lady Lions a spark, answering Battle's run with a kill. She added another kill on set point to close it out for Calvary Lutheran.
In the second set, Calvary Lutheran got consecutive kills from Allison Procter, Smith and Olivia Bexten to take a 4-3 lead, which they wouldn't relinquish.
Adi Schulte recorded four straight service points, including an ace, then Bexten followed with eight straight service points to build the Lady Lions a 15-4 lead.
This time, Battle didn't make a comeback. Calvary Lutheran continued to cruise, adding a pair of kills from Smith down the stretch to finish the win.
"We're so up and down sometimes, we'll get a lead and then we let up," Murphy said. " You have to keep going, you have to hold that foot on the gas."
While the front row got the job done for the Lady Lions, Murphy said the back row play by Layson was crucial in the win. Layson had a team-high 12 digs.
With a rotation of seven players, Layson and Jaelyn Engelbrecht - who finished with eight digs - have become middle/outside hitters who play all the way around the court.
"That's what I really want to bring to this team, is more experience," Murphy said. "We've got to keep pressing the experience so we cam get there."
Bexten and Layson each had seven kills to lead Calvary Lutheran, while Smith finished with 26 assists.
Calvary Lutheran (20-5-2) is scheduled to host Russellville in the semifinals of Class 1 District 12 Tournament at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Murphy said her players will continue to wear the blue ribbons when the Lady Indians return to the court for the first time since losing their teammate.
"I'm hoping that, by the grace of God, they can come out here and put away their feelings at that moment, use volleyball as an outlet and carry her with them on the court," Murphy said.