Lady Vikes lose in special night against St. Andrews
Published 10:30 am Friday, October 9, 2015
Thursday was an intense and emotional day for the Warren Central volleyball team.
The school was placed on lockdown after a gunshot like noise was heard near the softball field throwing off any game day routine players might be accustomed to.
It was also senior for nine of the Lady Vikes. The 3-1 loss to St. Andrews put a stop on the special night after they dropped the first set 25-21, rallied back to tie the game in the second set 25-22, only to lose the final two sets 25-24, 25-6.
“We played really well. I don’t know what happened the last game,” said Warren Central coach Matt Gullett. “They had a lot of balls that just fell in and they did some things they’ve done all game and I don’t think we adjusted.”
For Carisha London, Frida Garcia, Tae Hubbard, Aquarius Crook, Malynn Kelley, Kayla Mayfield, Elizabeth Boyd and Jereka Willis it signaled the beginning of the end to a cornerstone season.
“All my seniors played really well tonight,” Gullett said.
The Lady Vikes kept the Saints on their toes all night matching each point St. Andrews scored through the first three games, thanks to the effort of the back row. There were several rallies in the game going 10 times over the net.
Gullett thought the serving looked good and the team had really good kills.
Willis proved herself to be a problem at the net.
She had two cross-court kills for the tying 18th point and 21st point in the first set. In the second set, Willis had an assisted block with Carley Pitzer for the 11th point, turned around with solo block for the 13th point and added another kill to her stat line of the night. She added another three kills and a block in the final two sets.
Garcia’s serves were smooth and powerful getting an ace in the second set. She also had a soft touch for cross-court kills against a good defensive team.
“They play amazing defense. It is hard to score on them. There’s no telling how many digs that team had,” Gullett said. “That’s a lot of credit to them. That’s their game. They’re a defensive team first and will play defense until you make an error.”
Gullett said the Saints are a great team. They played for the state championship against Our Lady Academy, but were swept 3-0.
“They adjusted to our attacking. We were cross-attacking so much that they saw that was the only thing we’re doing and they adjusted to it,” Gullett said. “We didn’t vary our attacking enough to maybe through them off.”
Defensively, Gullett said the Lady Vikes aren’t making as many mistakes and have become tougher to score on, which is starting to become a strong point for them.
“I think that’s been one of the things that’s been pushing us lately,” Gullett said.
“When we tighten that defense up and it’s harder for other teams to score, they get frustrated, they make mistakes and we capatilize off it.”