Princeton battles back, wins east 1A regional volleyball crown

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 29, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

SALEMBURG -- The glass slipper didn't crack this time.

Cinderella is finally going to the ball -- thanks to a freshman.

Outside hitter Emily Ricks' kill on championship point assured the Bulldogs' invitation to the big dance with a stunning come-from-behind 25-21, 19-25, 14-25, 25-12, 15-8 victory over top-seeded and previously-unbeaten Lakewood on Tuesday evening.

Runners-up each of the past two seasons, the 10th-seeded Bulldogs (22-4 overall) earned their first-ever N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A eastern regional title -- in four tries. They'll oppose western champ East Surry for the state crown Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

Match time is 2:30 p.m.

"Amazing," said a misty-eyed Kelsey Edwards. "I can't stop crying."

But the tears could have been for another reason.

Lakewood (25-1-1) controlled the tempo in the second and third sets, and forced Princeton to play defense on nearly every point. The Bulldogs struggled in transition and constantly fed the Leopards' offense with free balls.

Outside hitters Rashyda Parker and Lauren Tew, who combined for 38 of the Leopards' 50 team kills, constantly found the open spots in Princeton's defense. A disastrous third set gave Lakewood a 2-1 advantage before a standing-room-only crowd that was treated to yet another classic outcome in this fast-budding rivalry.

"They weren't beating us, we were beating ourselves," Ricks said. "We just needed to (find) our heart and hustle, and needed to play our game. We wanted this most out of anything."

Princeton regrouped defensively and began getting more touches on the ball. The teams exchanged long rallies and the Bulldogs forced the Leopards to play a slower offense that induced more off-speed shots than direct attacks at the net.

The Bulldogs built an eight-point advantage, 16-8, on Edwards' kill off of Charley Cox's assist midway through the fourth set. Princeton maintained that margin and forced a decisive fifth set against the Leopards for the third time this season.

And what a fifth set it was.

The Bulldogs, with Taylor Carroll at the service line, built an insurmountable -- and mind-boggling -- 11-0 lead. Ricks and Edwards combined for six kills during that stretch.

"When they called their second timeout, I asked the girls what was the difference and they said they were attacking," PHS head coach Paige Renfrow said. "I said 'exactly, you are pulling them out of their game.' In the last two sets, we were able to get touches on almost every hit."

Lakewood stopped the run on Rashyda Parker's monster kill toward midcourt. The Leopards climbed to within 14-8 and fended off four regional championship points before Ricks delivered the final blow on Cox's 45th assist of the match.

The ball glanced off a Lakewood back-row defender and the celebration began.

"At that point, I was just trying to hit it back over," said Ricks, who collected five of Princeton's 50 team kills. "I just wanted to focus on what I've always done, not think about anything else."

But the Bulldogs can think about one thing now -- they're eastern regional champs.