Eagles take Saints down in four sets

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on August 29, 2012 1:50 PM

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The service line continues to present its share of struggles for Rosewood.

Southern Wayne is still learning to play as a cohesive unit.

The Eagles overcame a third-set lack of focus and recorded a 25-12, 25-18, 14-25, 25-7 non-conference victory Tuesday evening.

Rosewood jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the first set and took advantage of the Saints' unforced errors. Crystal Allen provided an ace, a kill and an off-speed hit as the Eagles finished off set one.

Both teams struggled to serve in set two and in turn gave away valuable points. Kills from Ellen Morgan and Heather Lancaster along with two service aces from Anna Ingram gave Rosewood a 10-1 advantage.

Southern Wayne climbed to within 14-12 as miscues plagued the Eagles. Scout Anderson delivered a a pair of key aces down the stretch and Ingram pounded out a pair of kills to close out set two.

"We are still struggling from the serving line," Rosewood head coach Jennifer Cochran said. "We had 32 serving errors in our past two matches, not even counting today. We probably had 12 or 13 today."

Southern Wayne (1-4 overall) had the look of a different team in the third set as the Saints displayed dramatic improvement in their communication and ability to play together. Passes were on target from setters to hitters and they played with an aggression that was missing during the first two sets.

Deborah Bennett hammered out four kills, two aces and a block in set three. Keaton Bradley supplied three off-speed hits. Bennett finished with five kills and three blocks.

"We were trying to figure out how to deal with (Bennett)," Cochran said. "She's a beast, she's awesome. I thought she was their team."

The Eagles (6-2) responded in the fourth set and found holes in the Saints' defense. A pair of kills helped Rosewood grab an 11-6 lead. Allen's kill, off-speed hit and block increased the margin to 21-6.

Ingram contributed three aces in set four and Ayana Potter supplied two aces to finish the match.

"I think we poked it into a hole a lot where they weren't and if we had a chance to put the ball away we did," Cochran said. "Ellen did a good job, Anna did a good job and I think a lot of it is just learning where everyone is on the floor."

Morgan finished with six kills and Ingram added two kills and five aces.

Southern Wayne entertains Triton on Thursday. Rosewood visits North Johnston on Sept. 5.