LOUISVILLE – The South Warren volleyball team’s season ended with a defeat, but the Spartans still had plenty to celebrate Saturday following a 3-0 (25-6, 25-12, 25-11) loss to No. 2 Mercy in the semifinals of the KHSAA state volleyball tournament.

Despite the loss, South Warren earned its best finish in school history, with the Spartans becoming the first Region 4 team to advance to the semifinals since 2011 when Greenwood advanced to the championship game. It’s only the third time a Region 4 team has advanced to the state semifinals.

South Warren earned its first semifinal berth earlier in the day after outlasting No. 12 Paul Laurence Dunbar 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 15-11) in the quarterfinals.

“I’m super proud of them,” South Warren coach Justin Griffin said. “They kept continuing the fight, never gave up. They kept believing in themselves and kept doing everything we had been asking of them to do. We built some momentum going into the postseason. The Final Four – it’s an amazing feeling right now.”

The Spartans began the day by avenging a 2-1 loss to Paul Laurence Dunbar on Sept. 22. In the regular-season meeting, Hannah Yonts and Erin Nerland did not play for South Warren. Both had a huge impact in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

South Warren jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game one, but Dunbar quickly erased the deficit and surged ahead 7-6.

The lead volleyed back and forth, with no one leading by more than two points until Paul Laurence Dunbar scored four straight to take an 18-15 advantage. The Spartans battled back to tie 20-20, but PLD scored the final five points – including three kills from Peyton Gash to take the first game.

Dunbar jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game two, but the Spartans stemmed the tide and eventually crept ahead 8-7 after a kill from Nerland. After Dunbar briefly went back ahead 9-8, South Warren scored four of five points to take the lead for good – adding a 5-0 spurt late to seal the victory and even the match.

Paul Laurence Dunbar built a 15-10 lead in game three. South Warren came charging back with a 10-4 run to take a 20-19 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The Spartans led 2-1 after three games.

The Bulldogs answered in game four. South Warren fought off a pair of game points until a pair of kills by Peyton Gash evened the match 2-2.

It was all South Warren in game five. The Spartans jumped ahead 5-0, with three kills from Yonts, and never looked back. Yonts had 10 kills in game five, including one on the final point to send South Warren into the semifinals.

Yonts finished with a school record 31 kills against Paul Laurence Dunbar.

“It’s humbling,” Yonts said. “I have to have my team digging those balls and my setter working with me. It’s not just me, it’s my team. I’m super proud of everyone. I’m glad I was actually able to play because I was hurt the first time we played them.”

Sophie Pemberton had 14 digs and 13 kills, while Nerland added 11 kills and Hailey Carter finished with 10 kills. Sydney Clayton finished with 60 assists and a 16 digs, while Makenzie Allen had a team-high 24 digs in the quarterfinal win.

There was a little less drama in the semifinals, with No. 2 Mercy in control throughout.

The Jaguars got 18 kills in game one, building a 7-1 cushion early with the lead continuing to expand throughout. South Warren tied it 1-1 in game two before Mercy scored five straight to take the lead for good.

A Pemberton kill gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead in game three, and South Warren tied the Jaguars twice at 2-2 and 3-3 before Mercy used a 7-0 run to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“They are good,” Griffin said. “They put so much pressure on us. We just wanted to fight and I felt like we dug a few balls, just in the end they were better than we were.”

Yonts had six kills in the semifinals, ending her career with the most varsity kills in the program’s history. Pemberton and Meredith Woods added four kills each.

“We’ve had a great run,” Yonts said. “Nobody expected us to go this far and I feel like we really worked hard. Even though we lost to Mercy, we had our goals – we got to the semifinal game and that’s what we wanted to do. I’m super proud.

“I’m so grateful I was able to play at South Warren the last four years and I am really going to miss it a lot. I know we are really going to look back on this years from now and really cherish the time.”

Yonts and Allen were named to the all-tournament team.

“This means a lot,” Allen said. “I think we all really wanted it and we all came together and played really well. We all had the same goal, to go out there and have fun and do their part.”

Yonts and Allen were two of seven seniors – along with Carter, Woods, Mary Pitts, Nina Vespa and Taylor Kirtley – who helped the Spartans end the season on a strong note, with a historic postseason run.

“Every class is special, but for what they have done, this is very special,” Griffin said.{&end}