Varsity Volleyball Crushes Cedar Ridge
The Cedar Ridge Raiders stepped into the Field House on Friday, Sept. 15, completely oblivious to the fact that the Lady Warriors were about to beat them in three quick sets, without their head coach even being there.
Kenzie Beckham ‘21 started off the night with a killer serve, taking Cedar Ridge by surprise. Emily Low ‘18 got the crowd riled up as she scored the first kill of the night, going on to score three more by the score 13-8, paving the path to victory for the Warriors. Cedar Ridge took a timeout at 22-14 trying to pull their forces together for a comeback, only to face Maddi Kriz ‘19 as she smacked down the set-winning hit, leaving the score 25-16.
“Not having [Coach] Nelson there was a little nerve racking, but getting the winning kill was definitely a reliever,” Kriz said. “It got the whole team pumped to take on the next two sets.”
The second set started with Cedar Ridge scoring the first point. However, Low would have none of that as she scored the first kill again for the Lady Warriors. At the beginning of the set the teams remained neck and neck: 2-2, 4-4, 5-5. Kriz broke the tied scores with a kill, fueling the Lady Warriors to pull away. Jenny Todd’s ‘19 strong serves and Maggie Stout’s ‘19 smart ball placements pushed the Warriors to 20-13. The Warriors hit a bit of a rough patch, bringing the score to 23-18. Coach Brissa Ochoa called a time to encourage the team to rise up out of the rut and pull out a win. After the timeout, Stout got big at the net, hitting a kill to bring the Warriors to set point. Victory came when Cedar Ridge hit the ball out, 25-21.
Cedar Ridge gained a lead of 4-6 at the beginning of the third set, with the Warriors getting off to a rocky start. But a kill from Kriz tied the set at 6-6. Lauren Gregorczyk ‘18 flew around the court saving tips and hard hits put over by Cedar Ridge, allowing the Warriors to increase their lead. Stout saved a ball using her head and scored a kill off of it at 16-10, causing the crowd to go wild. The final blow to Cedar Ridge was from Kriz as she smacked down the winning hit. The Warriors won the third set 25-15.
“It was one of those really exciting games that was fun to be a part of,” Todd said. “I’m so proud of everyone for stepping up and performing consistently all three sets. We had something to prove to Cedar Ridge after dropping a set to them in a previous tournament. So, yes, we were playing for Coach Nelson who couldn’t make it, but we were also playing for each other as well.”
The Lady Warriors will continue their season in an away game against the Stony Point Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19.
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