Princeton drops 1st set, hands Rosewood 2nd league loss of the season

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 25, 2013 1:47 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Rosewood sent the message it was ready to play against archrival Princeton during the opening set Tuesday afternoon.

The Bulldogs responded in emphatic fashion when the Eagles snapped their string of six consecutive three-set sweeps.

Senior middle hitter Savanna Massengill cranked out a team-high 18 kills during Princeton's 19-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-17 victory before a boisterous crowd that packed one side of the gymnasium. The Bulldogs (13-1 overall) claimed their seventh consecutive triumph over the Eagles and remained unbeaten in nine Carolina 1-A Conference matches this season.

Setter Charley Cox spread out 41 assists among six Princeton hitters.

Senior hitter Ellen Morgan paced Rosewood (14-2, 7-2) with a match-high 20 kills. Sophomore Lexi Mercer posted a match-high seven solo blocks and setter Anna Ingram handed out 30 assists.

The Eagles let a five-point lead slip away, but closed out the first set with a 10-2 run. Morgan provided three kills, Mercer recorded a crucial solo block and Callie Thornton served two of the team's three aces during the decisive surge.

"We had the jitters ... just wanted to get that first set over with," Princeton head coach Paige Renfrow said. "We stepped up and took them out of their game. We attacked everything and we were able to cover our blockers, our hitters ... everything they put at us we were able to scoop up, dig, except for the really good hits. You have to give those to them.

"Other than that, we were on our best after (the first set)."

Rosewood never led the rest of the match and became one dimensional on offense. Morgan handled more than two-thirds of the team's 143 total swings and the Eagles finished the four-set affair with a negative attack percentage.

Princeton covered the floor defensively like a blanket and recorded 60-plus digs as a team.

"The hustle (pleased me), the movement on the court ... the team effort," Renfrow said. "I told them after the first set 'if one of your teammates busts their butt to get a ball and they're laid out on the floor, then you return the favor and do the same thing ... do whatever you do to have to get it over the net'."

The Bulldogs scored the first three points in each of the second, third and fourth sets. Hitting errors allowed Princeton to take the second and third sets, and Massengill's slide kill off of Cox's final assist sealed the outcome.

Princeton owned a 45-30 edge in total kills.

"I think it's a mental between-the-ears thing," Rosewood head coach Jennifer Cochran said. "When we have the lead, we play well. When we don't have the lead, we play catch up all the time and can't perform. I think we were trying too hard.

"They played better this time than they did the first time. I think we didn't play as well tonight as we did the first time."