Dawgs ease past Rebels

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 17, 2010 1:47 PM

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PRINCETON -- Not all wins leave the fans in awe.

Princeton's three-set victory over Carolina 1-A Conference rivals North Duplin on Thursday night was a perfect example.

The Dawgs battled from behind in all three sets during its 25-16, 25-19, 25-23 victory. After a slow start to the season that has featured several non-conference matchups against much larger schools, Bulldogs' head coach Trudi Rast was glad to see the amount of fight that her team had left in the tank.

"We have had some games early in the year where we got behind and we didn't battle back," said Rast. "Tonight we did a much better job of taking back the momentum and getting a win."

In the first set, the Dawgs went on a seven-point run behind the strong serving of Kealy Myers. A pair of aces gave the home team a 9-3 advantage that it would never relinquish.

The second set was marked by a nine-point scoring run by the Rebels that was immediately answered by the Dawgs with an eight-point run of their own. Nicole Melvin helped the home team put the set away with three kills during that stretch.

"This game is all about momentum and being able to sustain momentum," said North Duplin head coach Heather Best. "We are getting better, but we still have a lot to learn about how to play once we get the momentum in our favor."

The third set was back-and-forth as North Duplin opened up a 6-1 lead only to see it evaporate into a 10-10 tie. Neither team could pull away until Princeton broke a 23-23 tie with consecutive kills from Melvin and Hannah Woodard.

Melvin finished with eight kills and three blocks. Savanna Massengill led the Dawgs' attack with nine kills and four blocks.

Tearra Ammons led the Rebels with eight kills and four blocks. Scarlett Martin added five kills and two blocks.

Princeton (6-5 overall, 2-0 CC) plays Smithfield-Selma on Monday, while North Duplin (4-6, 1-1) entertains Ayden-Grifton on Tuesday.