POTOSI — Abby Kaiser’s milestone night was spoiled by a four-set loss to visiting Benton.

Kaiser floored a team-high 17 kills to surpass the 1,000 kill mark for her career and put on a great back-and-forth show with Benton senior standout Emma Lawrence, but the Zephyrs prevailed 25–17, 18–25, 25–19, 25–23.

“Abby’s work effort the last two and half seasons and also the time put in during the off season was top level,” said Potosi head coach Ric Walsh. “That great work ethic has helped her reach the 1,000-kill mark for her career. That dedication clearly shows,  because many of her kills are real bombs that are hard to react on and makes it hard to dig. She has also worked hard to read the blockers and the second tier of defense. It is always great to see a player that works so hard reach such a great goal.” 

Benton (16–1) retained sole possession of second place in the Six Rivers West at 5–1 in legaue play with the win. The Zerphys fell to league-leading River Ridge (14–0, 5–0) 3–2 last Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Potosi remained in third place at 10–4 overall and 3–2 in the SRW.

The opening set was close throughout until Benton went on a late run to pull away.

Kaiser rallied the Chieftains to a game-two win to even the match.

“In game two, we stepped our game up and played more aggressive on offense and defense, which resulted in a nice solid win,” said Walsh. 

Benton responded in game three and again pulled away late in another hard-fought set.

The Zephyrs jumped out to an early lead in game four and appeared to be on cruise control, but Kaiser and the Chieftains wouldn’t go away quietly. 

Potosi fought back to make it a one-point game at 24–23, but a free ball dropped into a open area killing the Chieftains’ great rally to bring a very interesting night to an end.

“The difference in the games came down to unforced errors,” added Walsh. “As we move through the season, if we can reduce that area of the game we will be a team that will be competitive whenever we take the court no matter who we are playing.”

Lawrence floored 18 kills and had five blocks and five aces to lead Benton.

Kaiser posted 17 kills, 18 digs, five blocks and three aces to lead Potosi.

Fellow senior Grace Morgan added seven kills and Sophie Langkamp had a good all-around night with four kills, 15 assists, 14 digs and seven blocks. Senior Hannah Udelhoven had 14 assists and a team-high four aces.

Potosi hosted Belmont Tuesday night and will return to action Monday at Highland (2–5, 1–2 SRW).

Benton 3, Potosi 1

(from Thursday, Sept. 14 @ Potosi)

Benton 25 18 25 25

Potosi 17 25 19 23

Potosi stat leaders 

Kills: Abby Kaiser 17, Grace Morgan 7. Blocks: Sophie Langkamp 7, Kaiser 5, Rayne Wolf 3. Assists: Langkamp 13, Hannah Udelhoven 12. Aces: H. Udelhoven 4, Kaiser 3. Digs: Kaiser 18, Langkamp 14.