Rosewood rallies in 3rd set

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 17, 2010 1:47 PM

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Facing one of the volleyball measuring sticks in the Carolina 1-A Conference, Goldsboro proved it can compete with anyone.

Learning how to win is still a work in progress.

The Cougars led 20-9 in the third set, but the Eagles battled back for a 25-9, 25-19, 27-25 decision inside Norvell T. Lee Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon.

Goldsboro controlled the tempo early in the third set while Rosewood struggled with unforced errors and inconsistent passing. A pair of kills by Sterling Simmons gave the Cougars a 16-5 lead.

"We came out in that third set and put the pressure on them," said Goldsboro head coach T.J. Lancaster. "We went at them and then we fell back and made some mistakes. I thought we played the best stretch of volleyball we have all year in the first half of the third set."

The Cougars' lead swelled to 20-9 before Rosewood reeled off 11 unanswered points. Alyssa Spell's three kills helped cut away at the deficit. Goldsboro committed seven unforced errors during the Eagles' run.

The Cougars served for the set with a 24-23 lead, but Kasheika Wallace's serve landed in the net. Goldsboro also had a chance to end the set while leading 25-24.

Ellen Morgan delivered two kills to finish off the match for the Eagles.

"I'm proud of the way we came back," said Rosewood head coach Jennifer Cochran. "We played as a team. This is a lesson that you can't take anyone lightly and that we can come back regardless of what the score is."

The Eagles served with efficiency throughout the first two sets.

Laura Vinson served five straight aces during the opening set as Goldsboro struggled with its serve receive game. Morgan tacked on three consecutive aces later in the set.

Kerri Jo Gurley's back-to-back aces helped the Eagles grab momentum during set two. Rachyle McAlduff's pair of aces and Vinson's kill put the set away.

"We served to the seams really, really well," said Cochran. "They tried three different serve receives on us so that shook us up a little bit."

Morgan finished with six kills, two aces and a dig. Spell distributed 15 assists and Chelsea Sawkiw added seven assists.

Rosewood (8-2 overall, 2-0 CC) entertains Midway on Monday. The Cougars (1-9, 0-2) visit Princeton on Tuesday.