Group of
gritty South Rebels fight back in 4th to
finish Dakota Ridge (09/21/11)
by MARTY CESARIO
Colorado High School Volleyball :
Class 5A / 4A
South High School, Denver,
Colorado
That... certainly was entertaining!
Two sets went to
extras, no string of points went longer than four in the first two,
and the play-by-play guy was calling for a stopwatch because several
rallies lasted forever. And after falling behind by 8 deep into
the 4th set, the South Rebels locked arms and surged forward with a 15-5
run to take the match victory from Dakota Ridge.
During our
pre-match conversation, Coach John Calderwood bragged
about his girls' "fighting spirit." That showed in how they finished.
Coach Calderwood also proudly mentioned that his push for team
selflessness and togetherness was being embraced -- which is why he
presented three players to join me during the post-match segment of
our broadcast. Hannah Karn along with juniors
Mackenzie Campbell and Jenna
Martinez stepped up in unison... and then they tried to
ditch me as a trio, too. Ha!
(I led with "Mac." When I released
her, Hannah and Jenna started to fade off with her. "Oh no,
ladies. T.V. time for everybody..." Because you all deserved
it.)
Early in the 1st set,
the message that this would be an evenly contested match was
clear. Both teams played solid defense so kill percentages were
fair, and neither squad's most productive attackers
were delivering the impact expected. Middle Alyssa
Campbell and freshman Brogan
Wallin impressed around the net for Dakota while the Eagles
searched for ways to efficiently get the ball to their top hitters.
Meanwhile, Hailey Clawson provided enough bonus
offense for the Rebels who gathered 5 of the final 6 points
scored to earn a set one win.
Dakota Ridge got off to a good start
in the 2nd as sophomore middle, Jae Ferrin, and
junior OH, Ashley DiFulvio, received better
opportunities to drive balls to the floor. Though South issued a
late scare to even the score at 24-24, the multi-talented Wallin helped
Dakota even the match at one set each.
That "scare" the
Rebels delivered carried over into momentum as South began the
3rd with an 8-2 lead. The young but feisty Eagles clawed their way
back into tie scores at 8-8 and 13-13, but South answered with a 7-point
string as Martinez developed a comfortable groove setting
Mackenzie Campbell for kills. Karn, who caught my attention as a girl who
can be effective in all six spots on the court, was at the service
line for that run. (Hannah also recorded 15 digs and led her team with 11
kills.) While offensive opportunities were being converted
into points, support players like middle Dallas Agnew
and junior RS, Amy Johnson, were disrupting shots at
net and keeping stray balls off the floor. (Junior libero,
Mallory Agnew, was great in the back row the entire
evening.) South looked well on their way to a successful night as
they took the 3rd.
Yet Coach Nikki Neuer's
Eagles regained authority in the 4th. Ferrin, Wallin, and Alyssa
Campbell made plays and put their squad into position to force a 5th with
big advantages at 14-6 and then 19-11. However, the fight in
the South spirit suddenly flicked "on" and the Rebels out-dueled
their opponents for 15 of the final 20 points -- including the final four
for the match win.
Coach Calderwood also
added off-camera that the last time we had broadcasted a South volleyball
match was in 2005. They won that night, too. So the Rebels are now
2-0 with ISPN and CET105. And South captured the Denver Prep League
title in '05. They hadn't won the D.P.L. in 23 years before that... and
haven't since. So who knows? Maybe we......... Nah. We're
not that good. But maybe they are.
Dakota
Ridge (3-7, 0-0) 19 27 20
24
Denver South (6-2,
0-0) 25 25 25
26
Some individual statistics,
team stats, and/or clock stamps may be unofficial.
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"CET Sports" on Facebook for posts and pics for this game.
Feedback via e-mail to: contactus@ispn.tv or marty@ispn.tv |
