Rosewood hangs on to beat Midway
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 23, 2011 12:49 PM
Rosewood overcame some sluggish play and a fifth set match point to beat Midway 25-23, 25-19, 17-25, 13-25, 19-17 on Saturday night in the opening round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A playoffs.
After losing to North Duplin in the second round of the Carolina 1-A Conference tournament on Tuesday, the Eagles followed a similar format just four days later. Rosewood cruised through the opening two sets and appeared ready to drop the Raiders in quick fashion.
Much like the Rebels before them, the Raiders battled back and pushed Rosewood to the brink.
"We seem to play so well in stretches but then we make a mistake or two and it all goes south," Rosewood head coach Jennifer Cochran said. "We got down and the mistakes seemed to build on themselves in the third and fourth set."
Luckily for the home faithful, the Eagles figured things out in the knick of time.
Three kills in the first five points by Crystal Allen put the Eagles ahead 6-2 in the deciding set. Consecutive kills by Ellen Morgan and Anna Ingram made the score 9-4 and the home team got a tip for a point by Laura Vinson and a block by Allen to grab a commanding 13-5 advantage.
Midway rallied behind Kaitlyn Jackson, who buried three kills and added a block as the Raiders took a 15-14 lead. facing elimination, the Eagles got another kill by Allen to tie the score. The teams traded points, before an ace by Kerri Jo Gurley gave the home team a 18-17 lead. Allen ended the match with her fifth kill of the set.
"Crystal did a great job of attacking the ball," Cochran said. "We adjusted and started to set the ball a little lower and she kept getting herself into position to make the plays."
Allen finished with 12 kills and four blocks. Vinson added five kills and two aces. Morgan finished with eight kills.
Rosewood (17-6 overall) travels to Holly Ridge Dixon on Tuesday.