The South Greene volleyball team struggled early on Monday afternoon, but it fought hard to force a fifth set before falling 3-2 to Elizabethton (25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 15-9).
“We had a foot in the grave. We acted like we didn’t even want to be here in those first two sets, but we found some momentum,” South Greene coach Stephen Gregg said. “We started controlling the front line better and made one adjustment that got them out of system. I was pleased with the way they fought back, but we couldn’t finish it out.”
Gregg was not pleased with his team’s effort through the first two sets on Monday and they found themselves in a 2-0 hole, but with their backs against the wall the Lady Rebels fought back.
In the third set South Greene broke an early tie when Davanie Tarlton swatted back-to-back kills before Whitney Reaves scored on a tip and Ava Brobeck sent over a good serve that made it 7-3.
Elizabethton came back and tied things at 9-9 on a block by Allie Stout. The Lady Rebels moved back in front at 13-10 on another kill by Tarlton.
South Greene’s biggest lead came at 19-14 when Reaves found a hole in the defense to land a kill. The Lady Cyclones closed the gap again to 19-17 when Jasy Shell connected on a pair of kills from the right side.
The set finished with Tarlton finishing off two long volleys with kills while Baylee Jennings put down an ace in the 25-19 win.
“I just think effort made the difference,” Gregg said. “Girls started going after balls that were falling. They started covering better, and we stayed off their block. We just kept the ball in play.”
The teams traded points early in the fourth set, but Elizabethton found the first separation at 12-9 when Ava George Wilber smacked a kill from the middle.
Gregg called a timeout and out of it Tarlton came up with a big block that breathed some life into South Greene. Ryleigh Gregg landed a kill from the left side that tied things at 13-13. South Greene took a 16-13 lead after and ace by Brobeck and first-hit kill by Tarlton.
South Greene’s lead grew to 19-15 when Gregg pushed a ball deep over the Lady Cyclones to the back line.
Reaves landed a free ball on the back line to give South Greene a 22-18 advantage, but errors allowed Elizabethton to close the gap to 23-22.
Jennings scored on a tip and Elizabethton sent the final swing of the set out of bounds to give the Lady Rebels a 25-22 win.
The Lady Rebels could not keep the momentum going into the fifth set and Wilber used two kills and a tip to push Elizabethton in front 5-1. When the Lady Cyclones had success on Monday it was because Wilber had success in the middle of the front row. In the third and fourth sets South Greene was able to quiet her, but in the fifth set she came alive again.
“I probably should have gone to that earlier, but we just tried to block (Wilber) and get her head,” Gregg said. “In that fifth set she got going and some balls started to fall. That is stuff we can’t have happen we watched some serves, and we didn’t go after ball. That has been a problem early in the season.”
South Greene got within two points on four occasions, but Elizabethton closed on a 6-2 run in which Wilber scored on two kills and a block.
The first set began with South Greene taking a 5-1 lead with Keasley Hankins connecting on a back-row kill, Jennings dropping in an ace and Gregg putting down a kill.
That lead was short lived and a kill by Wilber tied things at 6-6. Elizabethton led for the first time at 10-9 when Zoe Proffit recorded a kill.
From there the Lady Cyclones began to pull away. An ace by Zyleigh Bates pushed the lead 17-11 and then errors began to mount for South Greene that put them in a 21-12 hole.
Elizabethton finished the first set with a 25-17 win.
The second set started close and on a block by Tarlton the Lady Rebels took an 11-8 lead. Wilber tied things for the Lady Cyclones on a block and then she smashed a kill from the middle for a 12-11 advantage.
South Greene regained the lead at 14-13 but then errors mounted and attacking swings became limited as the Lady Cyclones went on to take a 25-18 win.
