Rosewood battles, takes down Midway at home

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on August 15, 2012 1:48 PM

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At times how a team wins can be just as important as the victory itself.

Rosewood found out plenty about its character and will while grinding out a 25-15, 26-24, 17-25, 22-25, 15-10 win over visiting Midway on Tuesday evening.

Crystal Allen pounded out four kills in the opening frame as the Eagles jumped out to a 21-7 lead and the Raiders committed costly mistakes down the stretch.

Rosewood fought off a set point in the second set and Allen's off-speed hit created a 24-24 tie. Ellen Morgan's block and a Raiders' miscue concluded the second set.

"If I can involve Crystal the whole time, I think that would help us as a team," Eagles' head coach Jennifer Cochran. "She passed really well in the back row when she served a couple of times in the fifth game."

Midway began to find its touch on kills and serves that either sailed wide or long during the first two sets. Rosewood suddenly struggled to serve and the Raiders' seized the opportunity to grab the momentum. Jennifer Blackmon's ace gave Midway a 16-12 lead in set three. Jada Cannady's kill extended the advantage to 21-13 and Blackmon's off-speed hit closed out the set.

The Eagles' serving woes continued in the fourth set and four early kills from Farrah Jackson helped the Raiders grab a 13-6 lead. Rosewood briefly took a 20-19 lead, but Blackmon's ace and Cannady's kill helped force a decisive fifth set.

"After that first game, we just didn't consistently serve the ball where it needed to go," Cochran said. "We couldn't get serves in the box and then we fed them every time. We served the ball in front of them instead of behind them. We killed ourselves."

Rosewood regained its serving touch in the fifth set and the Raiders were haunted by untimely errors. Allen's off-speed hit pushed the Eagles in front 12-9 and she provided another off-speed hit to finish off the match.

Morgan finished with 14 kills, seven blocks and seven digs. Allen provided 13 kills and nine blocks. Heather Lancaster had five kills and Anna Ingram supplied 11 assists.

"I think all six girls played collectively when we needed them," Cochran said. "I thought Heather Lancaster played pretty well. We can learn a lot from this. We've learned a lot the past two days so we have a lot to work on tomorrow."

Rosewood (1-1 overall) visits Eastern Wayne on Thursday.