Spring Creek falls to North Duplin volleyball
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 18, 2011 1:48 PM
CALYPSO -- North Duplin head coach Kelly Brown didn't mince words after her team's victory over Spring Creek on Monday evening in the quarterfinals of the Carolina 1-A Conference volleyball tournament.
In order to continue to advance Brown knows her team must play better.
The Gators pushed their higher-seeded opponent throughout all three sets of the Rebels' 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 victory. North Duplin (14-7 overall) faces No. 2 seed Rosewood at 5 p.m. in today's semifinals at Princeton High School.
"We've got play hard the whole game," said Brown. "We can't slack off and give them five- or six-point rallies. We have to come to play and we have to play the whole game. If we don't play the whole game we're going to lose."
Sarah Ford's ace tied the first set at 7-7 for Spring Creek. Tearra Ammons' kill pushed North Duplin in front 14-10. The Gators cut the deficit to 23-21 on back-to-back kills from Stormy Westbrook and Bianca Morato.
Danielle Hinrichs' kill finished the opening set.
Ford's kill gave Spring Creek a 10-7 advantage in set two. The lead grew to 17-12 before aces from Ammons and Hinrichs helped create an 18-18 tie. The Gators were plagued by errors at critical moments, while an ace from Brooke Carter and Alonna Pate's kill allowed the Rebels to claim the second set.
"We had to play really hard," said Brown. "I was scared there for a while. We started off really good and then we kind of slacked off. Then Spring Creek played really well and came back and gave us a fight. I'm glad we pulled that out right there."
Kristen Martin's ace and Ammons' kill gave North Duplin a 10-5 lead in the third set. Spring Creek climbed to within 20-15 on Westbrook's off-speed hit. Kelsey Rogers' kill closed the margin to 24-22 and the Rebels committed an error on match point.
Ammons' off-speed hit clinched the match. Ammons finished with six kills and Ford led the Gators with four kills.
"We've got a young team and I'm really proud of them for hanging with all the seniors North Duplin had out there," said Spring Creek head coach Deanna Morris. "I had three freshmen and a sophomore on the court most of the time. I hope this gives us a glimpse toward next season. I made some changes tonight to try and build toward next year."