After falling behind early, the West Greene volleyball team fought back to win three-straight sets to claim an important District 1-A win over North Greene on Tuesday night, 16-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-15.
“I think they bounced back really well from that first loss. We were not jiving very well. We cleaned it up and made better passes and were able to run our offense,” West Greene Head Coach Raven Borie said.
It wasn’t quite the start they wanted, but the finish was enough to leave West Greene satisfied. The Lady Buffs struggled to gain a rhythm in the first set, scratched and clawed to win the second set, and used a string of strong runs to outlast North Greene in the final two sets.
A six-point and nine-point run in the fourth and final set fueled them to victory. Their consistency helped pay off with a key conference win that came in the process.
“Definitely a big win being a conference game and also a county game as well. That always adds a little to it,” Coach Borie said.
The early stages of the first set saw both teams trade leads until North Greene stretched their lead to 8-3 following a kill from Matti Phillips. West Greene managed to add back-to-back points until the Lady Huskies went on a 7-0 run that included three more kills from Phillips. Aleea Aiken ended their run with a spike.
North Greene responded back with two kills from Josie Graham and an ace from Matti Phillips. Aleea Aiken and Cassidy Hill tried to help cut their deficit to a manageable seven-point margin in the late stages, but Phillips ended the set with a booming spike to help North Greene take the first one 25-16.
They picked up where they left off in the first set by taking a 3-1 lead with a kill from Loren Blevins and two aces from Josie Graham.
West Greene closed the gap to 7-6 after a quick dump over the net from Morgan Brown landed in the middle of a confused group of Lady Huskies.
The Lady Buffs took a 9-8 lead, but surrendered it until tying it at 10-10 thanks to a kill from Cassidy Hill. Aleea Aiken went to the service line to deliver an ace and helped them take a 13-10 lead. A huge block by Hannah Miller helped spark a run that helped North Greene score three-straight and tie the set at 13-13.
A stretch of back-and-forth lead changes ensued until a timeout taken by West Greene while the Lady Buffs trailed 17-16. They tied it at 17-17 before Matti Phillips and Josie Graham delivered back-to-back kills to push North Greene ahead 19-17. West Greene tied it back at 19-19 before a tip kill by Graham put the Lady Huskies back ahead.
West Greene called another timeout trailing 22-20 and it proved beneficial. They forced North Greene to make their own mistakes and tied it 22-22 before Braelynn Willis’ kill gave West Greene a lead they wouldn’t let go of. Cassidy Hill ended the set with a kill to hand the Lady Buffs a 25-23 second-set victory to tie the game at 1-1. They finished the set by winning five out of the last six.
The third set was back-and-forth early as expected. North Greene kept the early advantages, but West Greene always seemed to fight back and tie it. North Greene pulled ahead 14-11 until a booming spike from Hill gave West Greene a spark of life.
Addy Peters rose up to block a spike attempt at the net and Morgan Moody secured a kill to knot things at 15-15. Cassidy Hill and Braelynn Willis’ kills gave the Lady Buffs a late 20-17 advantage. North Greene attempted to call a timeout and use it to their advantage like West Greene did in the second, but the Lady Buffs never lost their momentum and scored seven-straight to take a commanding 24-17 lead. A pair of kills from none other than Cassidy Hill helped them pull away.
“She played really well and Aleea was doing a great job at feeding her and that really helped,” Coach Borie stated.
West Greene ran away with a 25-19 win in the third set to hold a 2-1 lead halfway through.
Josie Graham helped set the pace early in the fourth with a pair of kills and helped push North Greene ahead 4-1. Blevins boosted their lead to 6-1 with a quick shove over the net. The early deficit forced West Greene to call an early timeout.
Cassidy Hill helped spark a run for the Lady Buffs with a kill at the net. They rattled off four-straight to cut their deficit to 7-5. Another strong run of six-straight points propelled West Greene ahead 11-9. Aleea Aiken provided excellent service at the line.
A run of three-straight put North Greene out front 12-11 before both teams started swapping points. Hill’s nifty block at the net and kill on back-to-back volleys helped West Greene gain the momentum needed to pull out front.
The scoreboard read 16-15 in West Greene’s favor before they went on a streak of nine-straight to win the set and prevail in the overall match. Morgan Brown was at the service line for all nine points and helped secure the win.
“We were a lot more consistent so that helps and I think they were pretty determined as well. North Greene is a great team so they were pretty determined to win,” Borie mentioned.
West Greene is set for their third-straight county game this week with another District 1-1A match against South Greene at home on Thursday. North Greene travels to play Happy Valley in their next District 1-1A contest on Thursday.
