Trinity Christian volleyball falls to Ritchie County in five-set regional thriller
Trending
Sports clichés are corny, tired, overused - and very often absolutely true.
Last night, the #4 Trinity volleyball team hosted #5 Ritchie County in the Class A Region 2 semifinals, and all the stats seemed to favor the Warriors. TC was 18-6-1, compared to 16-12 for RC, and Trinity had swept the Rebels 2-0 just a month ago.
But you can insert your favorite cliché right here, because Ritchie County roared back from 2-1 down to upset the Warriors in a five-set thriller, 3-2.
Trinity started the match nicely, building a six-point lead early on at 12-6, but in what would become a feature of the night, the Rebels put together a set of runs to tie things up at 14-14, then shot off on another crucial 11-5 stretch, including the final five points, to win a surprising Set 1, 25-19.
After their sluggish start, the Warriors elevated their game, especially from the service line, to take control of the match with 25-16 and 25-13 set wins, but a familiar bugaboo came back to haunt Trinity, according to their coach, Alycia Perrine.
"We sometimes have had a tendency when we've played well and finished out a set to maybe get a bit complacent," she explained. "We started Set 4 a little sloppy, and Ritchie came out strong, like their season was on the line, which it was. We gave up a big early run, and couldn't quite make it up."
The Rebels blasted out to an enormous 12-4 lead, absorbed a few Trinity mini-runs, and still carried a 22-16 advantage down the stretch. However, the Warriors battled valiantly to get back to 23-24 with the serve and a chance to tie, but lost the point and the set, 25-23.
So, with the season riding on the final short set, neither team could produce a lead of more than a single point at 9-9 - until a critical five-point Rebel run stretched their lead to 13-9.
Although the desperate Warriors closed to within two at 12-14, Ritchie County captured the final point of the match to advance to the Region 2 finals against #1 seed St. Mary's.
Afterward, exhausted but jubilant Rebels coach Ashley Davis explained some of the strategies that helped her team pull off the upset.
"We played our worst game of the year against Trinity last month," she said, "so we knew we were going to be able to compete with them. We knew we had to try to stay away from their big hitters and blockers (Marlo Flecker and Addy Wingrove), and when we did that well, that's when we put together our runs, which made the difference tonight.
"After Set 3," she continued, "I told them to put their poor play behind them and clean things up, that it was our time, our season, and they had to go out and play the best they have all year. I guess they got fired up, because we went on that big early run, held on, then found a way to make one last run late in the final set. Just a super exciting win for us."
For Perrine, the disappointing finish cannot diminish the accomplishments of this year's team - especially seniors Flecker and Lainey Jackson - nor dampen her enthusiasm for the direction of the Trinity volleyball program.
"We absolutely need to hold our heads up, because this was a fantastic year," she smiled. "#1 in the Mason-Dixon Conference, #2 in the OVAC, an 18-win season? That's a great year, and one game does not change that. And Lainey and Marlo were a huge part of it. Lainey was our libero, so she was like my defensive coach on the floor, and Marlo took care of the offense. They helped the younger girls grow so much this season, it was my honor to coach them, and their impact will stay with this team next year and beyond.
"And," she concluded, her smile growing wider at the thought, "I told the juniors that it was their team now, and even though those are big shoes to fill, I believe in them. I think everybody's ready to get back on the court and start working again to keep the momentum going for Trinity volleyball. I know I am."