Consistent play leads to Whiteoak win over Lady Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — There were lots of ups and downs, lots of emotion, and to top things off, it was a Highland County rivalry. But once all the dust had settled, it was the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats who were the visitors, winning in four games over the Fairfield Lady Lions Thursday.
The Southern Hills Athletic Conference win at FHS by the visiting Lady 'Cats saw them completely dominate the first two games of the match, but following a spirited "heart-to-heart" team huddle for the Lady Lions before the third game, the entire match became more competitive, with FHS winning game three and WHS winning the fourth game, but it went into extra points.
Whiteoak won their games by scores of 25-11, 25-14 and the fourth game of the match, 27-25. FHS won their game by a 25-22 score.
WHS is coming off a match with Ripley where they gained their first win of the season, as they've now won twice this fall. The Lady Lions are winless on the season.
"The girls have really pulled together lately," WHS assistant coach Erica Meade said. "They are gelling, and the situation in the fourth where it was so close showed that."
For the first game that WHS won by 14 points, it was tied just once at 2-2, but at times during the game, the score was close. For the first seven points of the Lady 'Cats, they had lots of help from seniors McKenzee Martin and Amber Gorman, along with consecutive aces from senior Katie Mowrey.
Martin finished the win with a total of 15 kills and three aces.
Later in the first game, WHS took a 12-8 advantage with a point from sophomore Emma Wardlow. Mowrey rotated back to the serve and, again, got another ace, followed by a spike by Martin and a point from senior Sydney Smith for an 18-10 lead by the visiting team. Smith had six kills in the match.
The first game ended with a spike by Smith for the 25-11 win.
WHS took an early 5-1 lead in game two with an ace by Mowrey. For the match, Mowrey had six aces, one kill and 20 assists.
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Later, the match was tied at 12-12 following serves from the Lady Lions, but from there, WHS dominated the second game, outscoring FHS 13-2 for the remainder of the game, including the final seven points of the match. Of those points, most came off serves by Wardlow, who finished the match with five aces and 12 kills.
Also for WHS in the match, Kylie Douglas finished with 11 assists and one ace.
With not a whole lot going their way, the mood and attitude of the Lady Lions abruptly changed following their huddle before the third match, playing like a different team for the next two games, even winning the third game.
The third game was tied seven times, lastly at 20-20. From there, FHS out-scored the visitors, 5-2 to avoid the three-game sweep.
Scoring big points for FHS in the third game were sophomore Casey Carter, Cynnamon Sova-Davy (including an ace for a 17-17 tied score), Courtney Hodson and Justice Hattan, who ended the game by pushing the ball over the net.
"Justice (Hattan) was strong for us," FHS coach Mary Beth Hodson said. "She was strong in the back row, and even in the front row, she played well."
Hattan finished with 17 hits and one kill and totaled 37 passes.
Hodson spoke about play of others on the team.
"Arica (Melson) was a strong setter, and Halie (Chain) had good blocks," she said. "Also, Cynnamon (Sova-Davy) had a strong all-around match for us."
In the fourth game, the score was tied 10 times, including at 20, 22, 23, 24 and 25, but WHS was able to score the final two points, both from Martin, who ended the fourth game and the match with a forceful spike to the FHS side of the court.
"McKenzee (Martin) is a very talented player," Meade said. "She had consistent passing, and that consistency was a big help to the team.
"We had great senior leadership. Amber (Gorman) stepped up and played well. Amber is playing the entire rotation this year. All of the girls played well, and this was a good team win."
The Southern Hills Athletic Conference win at FHS by the visiting Lady 'Cats saw them completely dominate the first two games of the match, but following a spirited "heart-to-heart" team huddle for the Lady Lions before the third game, the entire match became more competitive, with FHS winning game three and WHS winning the fourth game, but it went into extra points.
Whiteoak won their games by scores of 25-11, 25-14 and the fourth game of the match, 27-25. FHS won their game by a 25-22 score.
WHS is coming off a match with Ripley where they gained their first win of the season, as they've now won twice this fall. The Lady Lions are winless on the season.
"The girls have really pulled together lately," WHS assistant coach Erica Meade said. "They are gelling, and the situation in the fourth where it was so close showed that."
For the first game that WHS won by 14 points, it was tied just once at 2-2, but at times during the game, the score was close. For the first seven points of the Lady 'Cats, they had lots of help from seniors McKenzee Martin and Amber Gorman, along with consecutive aces from senior Katie Mowrey.
Martin finished the win with a total of 15 kills and three aces.
Later in the first game, WHS took a 12-8 advantage with a point from sophomore Emma Wardlow. Mowrey rotated back to the serve and, again, got another ace, followed by a spike by Martin and a point from senior Sydney Smith for an 18-10 lead by the visiting team. Smith had six kills in the match.
The first game ended with a spike by Smith for the 25-11 win.
WHS took an early 5-1 lead in game two with an ace by Mowrey. For the match, Mowrey had six aces, one kill and 20 assists.
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Later, the match was tied at 12-12 following serves from the Lady Lions, but from there, WHS dominated the second game, outscoring FHS 13-2 for the remainder of the game, including the final seven points of the match. Of those points, most came off serves by Wardlow, who finished the match with five aces and 12 kills.
Also for WHS in the match, Kylie Douglas finished with 11 assists and one ace.
With not a whole lot going their way, the mood and attitude of the Lady Lions abruptly changed following their huddle before the third match, playing like a different team for the next two games, even winning the third game.
The third game was tied seven times, lastly at 20-20. From there, FHS out-scored the visitors, 5-2 to avoid the three-game sweep.
Scoring big points for FHS in the third game were sophomore Casey Carter, Cynnamon Sova-Davy (including an ace for a 17-17 tied score), Courtney Hodson and Justice Hattan, who ended the game by pushing the ball over the net.
"Justice (Hattan) was strong for us," FHS coach Mary Beth Hodson said. "She was strong in the back row, and even in the front row, she played well."
Hattan finished with 17 hits and one kill and totaled 37 passes.
Hodson spoke about play of others on the team.
"Arica (Melson) was a strong setter, and Halie (Chain) had good blocks," she said. "Also, Cynnamon (Sova-Davy) had a strong all-around match for us."
In the fourth game, the score was tied 10 times, including at 20, 22, 23, 24 and 25, but WHS was able to score the final two points, both from Martin, who ended the fourth game and the match with a forceful spike to the FHS side of the court.
"McKenzee (Martin) is a very talented player," Meade said. "She had consistent passing, and that consistency was a big help to the team.
"We had great senior leadership. Amber (Gorman) stepped up and played well. Amber is playing the entire rotation this year. All of the girls played well, and this was a good team win."