By Jaron May, HockomockSports.com Student Reporter
WRENTHAM, Mass. – One true test of character is the ability to bounce back from adversity and learn from your mistakes. Down one set to none, the King Philip Warriors were able to face adversity, in the form of the Oliver Ames Tigers, and bounce back winning the next three sets to grab a 3-1 victory.
Oliver Ames came out of the gates strong with a lot of energy and the team’s battled back and forth, with none getting too far ahead of the other. It came down to the wire, but strong serving from OA boosted the Tigers just enough to grab a 26-24 win.
“I think we started out slow. We weren’t playing 100% in game one, sometimes we tend to do that,” King Phillip head coach Kristen Geuss said.
The teams traded aces, kills and blocks in the second set. When it seemed like one team was about to pull away, their opposition would fight right back and even the score. The Warriors began to inch away towards the middle of the second set, only to lose a four point lead.
With the score knotted at 19 apiece, KP scored six straight to win the set and even the match 1-1.
The third set is when the Warriors came alive, starting the set on a 14-1 run, due in large part to great serving from Sydney Phillips. The Warriors closed the set with a score of 25-7.
The final set was a little more tightly contested, but some big serves from KP’s Amanda Loewen and Angela Vellante helped the Warriors finish off the Tigers with a final set score of 25-15. The final point of the game came to a very fitting end in the form of a booming spike from Phillips.
Geuss was extremely impressed Phillips, saying that she “holds her own on the outside, one of our strongest outside hitters and her serving tonight was incredible.”
Phillips finished with 28 service points and totaled up 10 aces on the day; while up front, she added nine kills. Carly Adams added 22 service points and four aces, Loewen had 13 service points and nine digs and Jess Stoffel had a big day at the net with four kills and a pair of timely blocks.
Oliver Ames’ Alyssa Gavin and Maya Fetcho highlighted the group of very strong Tiger servers, who tested KP with a strong serves.
“That was probably the strongest serving team we have faced so far,” Geuss said of OA.
When asked about the undefeated record and the top spot in the Kelley-Rex, Geuss said “It’s wonderful. We don’t like to think about that, but we are proud of the girls.”
King Philip (5-0) will be back in action on Friday, when they take on the Taunton Tigers. Oliver Ames (2-4) is back in action on Friday against Attleboro.
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