The West Greene Lady Buffaloes snapped a head-to-head winless streak dating back to 2010 by knocking off South Greene 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-20, 25-21) on Thursday night.
It had been 14 long years since the last time a West Greene volleyball team defeated South Greene. After years and years of trying, the wait was finally over. There was no big celebration or big deal made out of the win. The Lady Buffaloes took care of business and treated it like any other win, but the significance in the win was still felt.
“They were pretty hungry to win. It didn’t look like it in the beginning. That was a little rough start. I think they knew and wanted to be that team to change that. They fought through and worked together to pull it out,” West Greene Head Coach Raven Borie said.
With the win, West Greene moves to 4-0 within District 1-1A play, and after a win over North Greene on Tuesday the Lady Buffs sit alone at the top of the district standings. They play Happy Valley next week with an opportunity to sweep all opponents through the first half of the regular season.
“I think it kind of helps boost their confidence as well when we go around a second time,” Coach Borie said.
Just like Tuesday night’s win over North Greene, the Lady Buffs started slow in the first set and fell behind too much to come back from.
Davanie Tarleton started the match with a kill and sparked a Lady Rebel run that saw them pull out to an early 5-0 lead. Cassidy Hill sent a spike crashing to the hardwood that broke West Greene’s scoreless streak. She helped the Lady Buffs with two early kills, but their own mistakes caused them to fall behind 9-2 before taking a timeout.
South Greene’s smooth passing and consistent hitting helped stretch their lead to 15-3 following a tip kill from Baylee Jennings. Sadie Trammell dumped a ball over the net and Tarleton collected a kill to help keep their momentum going.
Trailing 17-4, Cassidy Hill and Braelynn Willis helped West Greene go on a strong run toward the end of the set with a pair of kills each to pull them within six points. South Greene called a timeout ahead 21-15.
The Lady Rebels scored back-to-back points before West Greene came storming back. Morgan Brown secured three-straight aces to keep things too close for comfort. Hill’s kill gave West Greene new life and a pair of mistakes on South Greene’s part saw them close the gap to 23-22.
Another timeout by the Lady Rebels proved to be a game changer. The Lady Rebels put together two clean volleys and forced West Greene to make the mistakes needed for them to win the first set 25-23.
Hill started the second set with a huge kill that carried over from West Greene’s hot finish. South Greene found their rhythm early through a kill from Tarleton and an ace from Faith Baughard, but West Greene pulled ahead 11-7 in a run that included kills from Morgan Moody and Journey Lamons.
Three-straight aces by Addy Peters helped grow that advantage to 14-7. Hill spiked one to the floor before Peters secured another ace. A serve out of bounds ended West Greene’s run of 12-straight points.
“Addy is such a smart player. She brings a lot all the way around,” Coach Borie mentioned. Peters collected six total aces on Thursday.
The Lady Rebels scored two-straight before West Greene went on another long run of six-straight to pull away to a commanding 23-9 lead. West Greene controlled the entire second set and ran away to a 25-11 win to even the score.
Chloe Brown started the third set in one of the best ways you can with two-straight aces. Hill slammed a spike into the hardwood for an early 3-0 advantage. Tarlton scored South Greene’s first two with a push kill and a block. Peters penciled in a kill to put the Lady Buffs ahead 7-3.
South Greene chipped away and strung together four-straight to tie it at 7-7. Aleea Aiken snapped that streak and sent the Lady Buffs on another run with five-straight to go ahead 12-7. Tarlton’s kill brought South Greene within three at 15-12. Cassidy Hill’s clubbing blow forced the Lady Rebels into a timeout trailing 18-12.
Jennings’ push kill helped bring South Greene within three again, but Peters swung the momentum back to West Greene’s side with an emphatic spike.
Hill landed a huge set-ending spike to hand West Greene a 25-20 set win and put them on top 2-1.
“She’s always big. Not just at the net, but she’s a big voice and I think she helps carry the team with some momentum and some energy,” Coach Borie stated. “It’s got to click between her and the setter and Aleea being a freshman is doing a great job. It all starts with a pass.”
Hill collected a team-high 16 kills on Thursday night.
The fourth set began how the third set ended with another clubbing blow from Hill. Tarleton responded back with one of her own. Hill, Moody, and Peters landed three-straight kills to set the pace early for West Greene.
Tarleton helped push South Greene ahead with a kill and great service from the line. Jennings and Ryleigh Gregg delivered two-straight kills to make it 7-5. Reagan Arrowood provided a kill next.
Each team would trade leads in the middle stages. Three-straight by the Lady Buffs saw them take a 16-13 lead until three-straight from South Greene tied it at 16-16. West Greene tied it at 18-18 with a kill from Morgan Moody. They regained the lead with a kill from Journey Lamons.
The set sat tied 20-20 until a shot over the net from Braelynn Willis broke the tie. Lamons collected a momentum-changing kill that forced South Greene into a timeout. Addy Peters delivered an ace right after the timeout to make it 23-20. Hill sent a shot over the net with her back turned against it and sent it to a place where nobody was to put them one point away from the win.
A Lady Rebel serve sailed out of bounds and ended the set with West Greene prevailing 25-21. The Lady Buffs would win the match 3-1.
“I think they kept their focus and they were able to make some adjustments that were necessary rather than kind of choking under pressure so to speak,” Coach Borie expressed.
Hill led West Greene with 16 kills. Morgan Moody had 8 kills and Addy Peters provided 6 kills.
West Greene returns home for a non-district game with Cosby on Monday. South Greene goes back home for another county matchup with Chuckey-Doak on Monday.
