Clean sweep for South volleyball over PHS
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PARKERSBURG - Despite staying home from school the previous day because of an illness, Parkersburg South co-captain Natalie Lauer wasn't going to miss out on an opportunity to play against city-rival Parkersburg.
A round of antibiotics got Lauer back on her feet in time from her bout with strep throat and filled her starting position at libero. She was able to participate in the celebration of the end result of a three-set sweep of the Big Reds 26-24, 25-20, 25-17 Thursday night at Parkersburg High School.
"I went to the doctor on Wednesday and after 24 hours of antibiotics I wasn't contagious; I'm feeling better - my throat's just a little sore," Lauer said. "I was able to get enough sleep. I went home and took a nap yesterday. I relaxed all day yesterday because I didn't go to school and came in feeling pretty good today. I was so happy that I was able to play."
With their sixth consecutive victory, the Patriots improved to 18-6. Against PHS, South started off a bit sluggish and fell behind by as many as seven points late into the match at 20-14.
"You always know it's going to be a tough match against PHS regardless of who is on what team or what record we have," South coach Emily Tracewell said. "We really focus on giving 150% and being super tired by the end of the match no matter if we win or lose.
"I was super proud of them for being able to come back in the first set and win that game. I think we needed that for their confidence. I think it just took a bit for us to know we had the confidence in them and for the girls to have confidence in themselves."
PHS dropped its fifth straight match and fell to 5-14. In the first meeting between the two schools, the Big Reds lost to the Patriots in five sets.
"The girls are sticking with it, and you know they are frustrated, too," PHS coach Tammy Fisher said. "The girls didn't play that bad tonight. They really didn't. There in that first game we had the lead then we just started tumbling down. When that happens it's hard to get them back up, and that's what we faced pretty much all year."
In the opening set, South started its surge with Peyton Gossett at the service line. She served five straight points, including one ace, as the Patriots climbed to within 20-19.
The two sides exchanged a series of points before South forced a sideout trailing 23-22. One of the Patriots' setters, Aubree Harner, served an ace and served a second point to create set point at 24-23. The Big Reds won the next point, but a service error left South with a second set point and this time Lexi Smith converted with yet another Patriot ace.
In the second set, PHS had a brief lead at 6-3 before Ella Collins served five straight points and put South in front to stay at 11-6. Trailing 6-5, Collins dove just shy of colliding with the South bench on a third hit which crossed the net for the winner.
The Patriots increased the lead to as many eight points at 19-11 before moving within one set of winning the match.
In the third set, PHS once again showed signs of keeping pace with South as Chloe Gribble's work at the net resulted in three kills during a 6-0 run which put the Big Reds in front 11-8.
South had several answers in the back half of the final game - first with Jess Price contributing four kills during a 6-2 run which put the Patriots ahead 19-15. Teammate Presley Allen and her left-handed swing paid dividends at the tail end for a pair of kills.
"Tonight, I think we played well, but I told them that we can do even better," Tracewell said.
As coach Fisher views it, matches during the regular season are essentially practices to prepare for the postseason. Almost a month still remains in the schedule for the Big Reds to work out the bugs.
"I'm changing some positions around so we will see what we get from that," Fisher said. "We are not giving up hope, you know - you never give up. You just keep swimming."
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com
At Parkersburg High School
Parkersburg South def. Parkersburg 26-24, 25-20, 25-17
South scoring: Peyton Gossett 4 (3 aces); Quinn Bolyard 2, Aubree Harner 7 (1 ace); Lexi Smith 10 (1 ace); Ella Collins 10 (2 aces); Natalie Lauer 3 (1 ace)
PHS: Bella Bowman 3 (1 ace); Liddy Wilfong 6 (2 aces); Kelina Utietiang 4 (1 ace); Lexi Alford 2; Chloe Gribble 1 (1 ace); Calista Mace 1; Grace Inboden 5.
Records: Parkersburg South 18-6; Parkersburg 5-14
Next match: Parkersburg at Hurricane, Thursday; Huntington at Parkersburg South, Saturday