Girls volleyball: Harvest Christian rallies to down St. Edward
Anyone involved with girls volleyball knows that the momentum can turn on a dime, but Thursday's matchup between St. Edward and visiting Harvest Christian went well beyond the norm with more twist and turns than a thrilling roller coaster ride.
In the end the final momentum shift went the Lions' way as they overcame a 7-point deficit in Game 3 to rally for a 25-22, 18-25, 25-22 win in their opening match of the season.
Harvest (1-0) trailed 19-12 in Game 3, but an unforced error by the Green Wave opened a window of opportunity for the Lions. Candis Kaplan followed with 4 straight service points, including a pair of aces, to cut the deficit to 19-17.
Moments later Harvest still trailed 22-18. However, after a kill by Amanda Cassidy gave the Lions a side out. Cassidy rattled off 6 straight service points to complete the comeback. Rylee Boldog and Mikayla Robinson each had a pair of kills down the stretch for the Lions.
"I am really happy with the way the girls kept fighting," first-year Harvest coach Mike Bui said. "We didn't play very well and we weren't getting a lot of good swings, but we hung in there and just grinded it out one point at a time. The two service runs were big. We practice serving a lot in practice and it really made a difference today."
Cassidy had 16 serving points in the third game. A 9-point service run by Cassidy early in Game 3 gave the Lions a 10-4 lead. Cassidy also had 6 kills and 6 digs.
"It's the best feeling when the momentum starts to shift your way and you get on a run," said Cassidy. "Coach did a good job of keeping us calm when we fell behind in the third game. We were able to keep it together and come back as a team. It was a lot of fun."
Robinson, a South Carolina recruit, led the Lions with 8 kills. Kaitlin Murray had a team-high 10 assists. Candis Kaplan added 8 digs. Boldog and Hannah Griffith each had 5 kills.
It was the second straight match that St. Edward let get away late. The Green Wave squandered a 9-point lead in the third game on Tuesday at Larkin.
"It's frustrating," St. Edward coach Jaime Dovichi said. "But it's early. We just have to learn how to stay focus and close games out. Tonight we just got caught up in a bad rotation where we couldn't get the ball to our hitters."
St. Edward (0-2) actually had a 32-21 kill advantage in the match. After dropping Game 1 the Green Wave roared back with vengeance in the second game behind the strong hitting of Dominique Washington, who had 10 kills in the game. She finished with a team high 22 kills and 27 digs.
The Green Wave had rallied from a 10-4 deficit in Game 3 with a 15-2 run to take a 19-12 lead before faltering down the stretch. Erin Kremer had a strong third game with 7 kills, She finished the match with 9. Erin Aldana had 27 assists.