Chuckey-Doak never found much breathing room on Monday evening but the Lady Black Knights made the right plays late to pick up a 3-0 sweep at South Greene on Monday night, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22.
“I was really proud of the girls, all three sets were really close at the end. They had to stay up and stay competitive even after mistakes,” Chuckey-Doak coach Marissa Snapp said. “I was really proud of how they finished. It takes a lot to pull those out. They had to find a way to execute when they were tired and while under pressure. I couldn’t have asked for better.”
Monday’s action started with the Lady Black Knights taking the first lead at 8-5 by taking advantage of a couple of errant swings by South Greene. The Lady Rebels closed the gap to 9-8 when Reagan Arrowood landed a kill, but Chuckey-Doak found some separation again, and when Isabelle Karricker slammed one from the middle the lead increased to 12-8.
Chuckey-Doak’s biggest lead of the first set came at 16-10. Karriker pounded another kill and the Lady Rebels dug their hole deeper with two missed swings.
Chuckey-Doak’s defense was strong all night and its ability to keep South Greene’s hitters out of rhythm was a big reason the Lady Knight were able to play from in front for so much of the contest.
“Our defense was huge, and our block did so much better tonight,” Snapp said. “We have worked so much on getting over the net without being in the net and they did really well at shutting them down on the front row. Then when they did get through our back row was all over it. Our libero, Cristen (Bishop), was all over the floor all night. I could not be more proud of her.”
South Greene fought back and after Emma Padgett got a kill to fall from the back row and Sadie Trammell put down an ace the gap closed to 21-19. Padgett then sent a swing down the line from the left side to make it 24-23.
Jacey Taylor stopped the comeback there and finished the 25-23 Chuckey-Doak win with a big swing from the right side.
The second set went back and forth early but a kill from the left side by Carlene Bishop put Chuckey-Doak in front 6-5 and it never trailed again. Addyson Pruitt followed by putting down a kill from the right side and then Jayden Myers hammered a ball from the middle.
Bishop followed with a right side kill and Taylor stretched the lead to 12-6 with a slam from the left.
The Lady Black Knights’ ability to attack from all across the net kept South Greene guessing and kept Chuckey-Doak in the lead in the second set.
“Being able to mix up our shots was so important. Being able to do roll shots, and tips, and pushes, and keeping them guessing was to our advantage,” Snapp said.
A slam by Karricker kept Chuckey-Doak in front at 18-13, but once again the Lady Rebels began to mount a comeback. Kortnei Bailey slammed one from the left, Whitney Reaves snuck a tip past the block and then Padgett cut the lead 20-17 with a kill.
Padgett beat the backline with an ace to make it 22-20, and a net violation by Chuckey-Doak made it 23-22.
The run stopped there as Carlene Bishop finished things with a push to the back line and a tip for the 25-22 Chuckey-Doak win.
In the third set Chuckey-Doak was able to create a little separation early with Macy Church serving after Karricker got two kills to land for an 8-4 lead.
Three straight points from South Greene finished by a spike from Padgett cut the Lady Knights’ lead down to 10-9.
South Greene tied things at 16-16 when Trammel scored on an ace, but on the next play Karricker came up with a big block.
With Reaves serving South Greene briefly took an 18-17 lead, but then four errors put Chuckey-Doak back in front at 22-19.
In the closing stretch Chuckey-Doak got a first-hit kill from Taylor, a block from Myers and Bishop finished the 25-22 win by scoring on a push.
