Lakewood turns back Spring Creek in Carolina 1A volleyball opener

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 27, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Spring Creek started out in brilliant fashion against perennial power Lakewood on Tuesday evening, but it couldn't close the deal.

Senior outside hitter Lauren Tew sparked a decisive fifth-set run as the unbeaten Leopards claimed an 8-25, 25-14, 25-20, 21-25, 15-7 win in the Carolina 1-A Conference opener for both teams.

Tew cranked out 18 kills and senior setter Emily Lewis dished out 36 assists for Lakewood, which improved to 3-0 overall this season. Senior outside hitter Rachel McCollum pounded out 21 kills, while senior setter Sarah Ford handed out 33 assists for Spring Creek. The Gators dropped to 3-1 after sweeping their first three opponents of the season.

"I'm still a little stunned," first-year SC head coach Staci Pence said. "I feel like we definitely could have won that game. I think they felt a little more pressure because they wanted to win so badly, that one little mistake got to them."

Spring Creek started out in brilliant fashion.

McCollum spearheaded an energetic and efficient offense that collected 13 kills, and committed just one hitting error during the opening set. Lakewood struggled to get into its offensive system and constantly fed the Gators' attack with transition balls.

Lakewood discovered its energy in the second set and rode the hot hitting of Tew, who delivered six kills during an early 12-5 run. Spring Creek fell into defensive mode and scrambled at times to keep balls in the court.

The trend continued in the third set.

The teams traded three ties and three lead changes before Tew's off-speed dump off of Lewis' assist put Lakewood ahead for good, 12-11. The Gators stayed within striking distance at 14-13, but a service error and two ball-handling miscues allowed the Leopards to stretch their lead.

"They forgot how to play," Pence said.

In the fourth set, the teams worked through eight ties and four lead changes until freshman outside hitter Fernanda Martinez connected on a kill to put Spring Creek up 18-17. This time, the Gators overcame some miscommunication trouble and evened the best-of-five affair at 2-2.

Asia Eason's solo block against the Gators' Daisy Martinez capped Lakewood's 6-2 run in the final set. Spring Creek got to within three points on two occasions, but stopped itself with service errors.

"Overall, I think we played especially well for early in the season," McCollum said. "We just need to play to our fullest level all of the time. We can't hold back. They deserved to win because they wanted it more, but we had all of the tools, honestly."

Lakewood finished with a 48-44 advantage in team kills. Each team committed 38 total errors in the 2-hour contest.

"They actually deserve that win. We were just lucky enough to pull it out," LHS head coach Sheila Davidson said. "Shame on us for taking it."