Golden Falcons rally in 5th set, complete sweep of RHS

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 1, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Strong serving and defense has been Rosewood's calling card during the non-conference portion of its volleyball season.

But it's still missing a hitter to compliment senior Lexi Mercer.

The Eagles played a passive fifth set, while county rival Charles B. Aycock rediscovered its offensive rhythm midway through the fourth set. The Golden Falcons carried the momentum into the fifth and completed their regular-season sweep of Rosewood on consecutive service aces from senior Alexis Bynum.

Bynum and front-row mate Arlanda Faulker combined for 26 of Aycock's 40 total team kills in a 25-20, 10-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11 victory Monday afternoon.

"The reason why I'm upset (with the loss) is we had them down against the wall and then we opened the door," RHS head coach Jennifer Cochran. "You have to credit them because their hitters really put the ball away in the fourth set, which really brought them back into it.

"After the second set, I think that truly motivated them to play harder."

The Golden Falcons (2-2 overall) maintained a comfortable six-point margin throughout the opening set. Taylor Daniels' kill off Mckenzie Wheeler's assist sealed a five-point win.

Rosewood (2-4) reeled off 15 of the first 16 points in the second set. The run ended on Mercer's solo block against Faulkner thatfrustrated the sophomore middle hitter. Mercer recorded five blocks in the set.

Aycock answered with sporadic points, but couldn't erase the double-digit deficit.

"The second set was pretty nice. I will remember that for the rest of my coaching career," said Cochran, who played volleyball with CBA assistant coach Tangela Faulkner at the University of Mount Olive.

"That was kind of the highlight of my day."

The Eagles played lights-out defense in the third and fourth sets, but some returns resulted in transition balls for the Golden Falcons -- especially in the fourth -- which allowed them to set up their offense. Tied at 10-all, CBA libero Sydney Schmeltzer connected on a roll shot, which started a 5-1 run.

Faulkner, Daniels and Bynum controlled the net from that point.

"We talked about fighting back, digging deep, settling down and just pulling out of it," said coach Faulkner, who is a member of the UMO Athletics of Hall of Fame.

"We took the setter out of their offense, the girls attacked ... we just had to get out passes more consistent and get our serves in. We were out of system for a while."

Faulkner credited the Eagles' deep serving which caught the Golden Falcons offguard throughout the match. And just when Aycock thought it had terminated a point, Rosewood's defense managed to get a fist on a loose ball and keep the play alive.

The Eagles had 63 digs as a team, including 11 each from Mercer and Carrie Beckert. Mercer posted a match-high seven solo blocks and cranked out 10 kills.

"I thought we did a good job of keeping the ball in play as far as defense, but I thought we just couldn't make an offensive play for us once we dug it ... sent a lot of free balls over the net," Cochran said. "(But) we did get better from Thursday against Goldsboro, so that's a good thing."

Aycock owned 40-25 edge in total team kills and a 13-5 advantage in service aces. Cassandra Lassiter and Tanika Powell combined for 26 assists.

Faulkner's squad overcame 59 errors -- and a 4-0 deficit in the final set. Tied at 8-8, Daniels' short-ball dump sparked a 4-2 run that kept Aycock in charge the rest of the way.

"Instead of us giving up, we fought back even harder ... decided we'd change the momentum," coach Faulkner said.