Volleyball

Warriors Overcome Slow Start to Tame the Lions

Josie Rowean
Josie Rowean (4) led the way for the Warriors with 21 kills as KP bounced back from a first set loss to beat Newton South 3-1. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

By Josh Perry, Managing Editor

WRENTHAM, Mass. – Following the end of the first set, King Philip volleyball fans and parents could be forgiven for thinking that it was going to be a long night and a very quick match.

Newton South opened the Div. 1 Central-East matchup with a dominating 14-3 start and, despite a short resurgence by the Warriors in the middle of the set, rolled to a 25-16 win in the first and an early lead.

Nothing was going right for the Warriors. KP was struggling to receive every serve, the passing was erratic and the hitters struggled to even find the court. Meanwhile, the Lions looked dangerous on every play with Grace Leuchtenberger in the middle and Emma Lee and Ella Kim finding the right angles on each of their hits.

The crowd was understandably antsy, but the KP bench was calm. The coaches had seen this type of start before and head coach Kristen Geuss felt the team was just nervous at the start of its first playoff game.

“We have a tendency to start off slow and we’re trying to work on that but I think it was a case of the nerves,” she explained. “They had jitters and once we get warmed up then it’s much better.”

The coach had reason to be calm, as the Warriors completely turned the game around and won the next three sets to close out a 3-1 (16-25, 25-18, 25-9, 25-23) victory and advanced to the sectional semifinal.

KP fell behind early in the second set as well, but then setter Carly Adams (32 assists) got into a rhythm and started feeding outside hitter Josie Rowean, who had 11 of her 21 kills in the second set alone, and Gwen Uyrus, who added three of her nine kills.

A Rowean kill made it 7-6 in the second, a lead that KP would not relinquish. The crowd was getting louder and louder with every kill. Rowean fired through blockers and managed to take what the Newton South defense gave her whether it was the far corner or down the line.

Sophomore Amelia Murphy chipped in at the net with a couple of key blocks and two kills and defensively Micaela Murray had four of her 11 digs in the set, while Amanda Loewen added four of her own.

“They are our go-to people,” said Geuss of her top two hitters. “Josie and Gwen, give them any kind of set and they can do something with it.”

“But, it all starts with our serve-receive. Once everything gets into sync they can set up Josie all the time, can set up Gwen all the time and we get the momentum.”

The momentum carried over to the third set and suddenly it was as though the first had never happened. KP dominated and led by as many as 13 at several points in the set, including at 20-7 after another service error. The Lions looked like the team that was nervous and out of sync.

Rowean started the fourth set with three straight kills, as the Warriors built an early advantage. When the Warriors were going well, Adams fed the senior hitter over and over again.

“That’s what we do,” said Geuss with a smile.

Rowean had plenty of help with the KP servers causing problems for the Lions and not allowing Newton South to hit. Instead the Lions would be deep on their side of the court and forced just to send a free ball over.

Loewen in particular dropped in dangerous serves that had the visitors on their heels and Adams, Uyrus, and Emma Lopez each had service winners in the fourth set.

“We always hope that out strong serves will take them out of good positions to set up their hitters,” said Geuss. “So, we always serve strong and definitely our servers settled down in the second game.”

The fourth set was close throughout with Rowean providing seven kills, Uyrus adding a pair and sophomore Sydney Philips making several crucial plays at the net, including a big kill that made it 22-20.

When the final shot by Newton South sailed wide, the Warriors bench stormed onto the court to celebrate a playoff win. The first set felt like a distant memory and Geuss remarked that she knew her team could bounce back after a tough start.

She said, “It’s a team that never gives up. They’re battlers. They’ve been deep behind two games and they have a tendency to come back.”

KP advances to the Div. 1 Central-East semifinal and will travel to No. 1 seed Quincy on Thursday night.

Josh Perry can be contacted at JoshPerry@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.

Ryan Lanigan
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