Prior to this season the Floyd Central Lady Jaguars had never beaten Paintsville. In fact, they were 0-7 against the defending 15th Region champions.
Floyd Central took the opening two sets from the Lady Tigers and finished the match off in four, winning 3-1, in the semifinals played at East Ridge High School on Wednesday night.
The Lady Jaguars, now 29-7 overall, won their eighth straight match and advance to the championship for the third consecutive year, having lost the previous two to Paintsville.
Jadyn Hall totaled 15 kills while Gabby Howard, Allison Turner and Ally Stumbo finished with 11 each in the 25-17, 25-12, 23-25 and 25-15 match. Hall added 15 digs and five assists while Amelia Wallace had 24 assists, six kills, six digs and two serving aces.
Paintsville, which saw its season end at 28-9, was led by Hailey Little with 14 kills, one block and six digs while Bella Blackburn finished with 15 digs and 30 assists.
Kaitlyn Newsome totaled seven kills and 13 digs and Kara Ward had seven kills, one block and two serving aces. Hadley Hardin added seven kills, 10 digs and three aces and Alissa Mullins collected 20 digs.
Pike Central….3
Pikeville….……2
The Pike County Central Hawks took a deciding fifth set against Pikeville to advance to the championship match tonight, beating the Lady Panthers, 3-2.
Lexi Newsome, Bailey Birchfield, Hannah Collins, Chloe Neece, Emily Baker and Skylar Stumbo, with help off the bench from Abby Huffman and Brittney Ray, took the fifth set 16-14, after sets of 25-15, 17-25, 25-18 and 14-25.
The Lady Hawks, now 21-9, had lost all three regular season matches with Pikeville, which finished its season at 30-8. PCC is making its first appearance in the finals since 2010. The Lady Hawks have never won a regional championship.
Kaylee Wells, McKinlee Potter, Hannah Akers, Chloe Wright, Riley Tavis and Emily Geaheart were the leaders all season long for the Lady Panthers.
Tonight’s championship match is set for 7 p.m. Floyd Central won both regular season matches.