It was a historic night in McDougal-Evers Gymnasium on Thursday as the Carmi-White County Lady Bulldog Volleyball team hosted Fairfield for the Black Diamond Conference finale.
There was a lot on the line for both teams. A Carmi win would give the Lady Dogs the BDC title outright, finishing the undefeated conference slate. A Fairfield win would split the BDC title two ways with the Lady Mules and Lady Dogs.
These two teams had met once already this month, CWC won a three-set thriller in Fairfield.
The energy inside McDougal-Evers was equivalent to championship night at the CWCIT. Both sides of the gym full to the brim, and both student sections full with school pride.
The Lady Bulldogs used that energy as fuel, as they completely dominated the first set.
Early in the first set, history was made. CWC junior Caroline Simmons collected her 1,000th career kill. She is the first player in CWCHS history to surpass 1,000 career kills.
Carmi jumped out to an 11-6 lead and Fairfield used their first timeout in an attempt to fire up the Lady Mules. However, that timeout only added fuel to the Lady Bulldogs’ fire.
CWC then exploded for a 14-4 run to end the first set, winning it 25-10.
Set two was much more competitive. The two teams traded punches early, and the Lady Bulldogs ran out to a six-point lead at 16-10. Fairfield then answered back with a 5-0 run, making it a 16-15 game. But then the flood gates opened, and Carmi ended the set on a 9-3 run, taking the match in convincing fashion, 25-10 and 25-18.
The win improves the Lady Bulldogs’ record to 27-1 on the year, and they finish 10-0 in BDC play, clinching their first BDC title since 2015 and their first undefeated conference title since joining the BDC.
“That was the best that we’ve played this year by far,” said CWC head coach Chris Lucas. “It is awesome to go undefeated and win the conference, but we’ve got bigger and better things on our mind.”
The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Albion on Saturday for the Edwards County Tournament. They will begin pool play at 9 AM as they face Charleston. They will then battle Newton at 11 AM.
