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LADY YELLOWJACKETS OUTLAST SHADOW CREEK IN FIVE SET THRILLER

Lady Yellowjackets outlast Shadow Creek in five set thriller

STEPHEN COLLINS

The Alvin Sun | 9/22/2022

PHOTO CREDIT: S Gassaway

Getting off to a fast start in both the opening game and decisive fifth set, the Alvin Lady Yellowjackets outlasted the Shadow Creek Sharks in a 23-6A five set volleyball thriller by 25-8, 25-21, 23-25, 21-25 and 15-11 scores, Tuesday night at the AHS Competition Gym.

With the fifth game tied at 3-3, kills by Wylie Singleton and Mackenzie Strban joined an ace by Ana Garza to spark Alvin (19-11 overall, 2-1) to a go-ahead 6-0 run. Three consecutive hitting miscues by the Lady Sharks (17-15 overall, 2-2) later put the Lady Jackets in match point position at 14-7.

Shadow Creek fought back to pull within 14-11 on Mackenzie Collins’ kill, but Garza split the Lady Shark defense with a front row tip to finally to close the marathon affair.

Garza led all hitters with 26 kills and 21 digs for a double double, while Strban did likewise with 20 kills and 24 digs and Korrigan Wright dished out 47 assists and 13 digs to give the Lady Jackets a trio of double double performances. Coryn Breaux provided 22 digs as well.

“I had a feeling this was going to be a dogfight and it was,” Alvin head coach Kylie Kunefke said following the match. “It was a dogfight at the freshmen level and it was a dogfight level at the JV level.

“When we came out (in the first set), I thought hey, this is a great start. But I knew Shadow Creek wasn’t going to roll over. There’s some rivalry here and some five set matches in the past. We needed some five set matches, though. This was a good experience against a team who has experience and we’re happy to be on the winning side of it.”

Collins’ 14 kills paced Shadow Creek in the hitting department, while, Breana Clark added 12 kills. Simone Robinson dished out 21 assists and 12 digs for a double double and Hailey Smith provided 29 digs.

“The girls really battled from a slow start and made a great comeback from being down two sets,” Lady Sharks’ head coach Whitney Daniels said. “We just made a few too mistakes at the end.”

Alvin totally dominated the first game, jumping to a 10-3 and then going on a 9-0 run behind kills by Garza, Strban, Singleton and Corynn Williams.

The Lady Jackets continued to dictate the pace early in the second set with kills by Garza, Strban and Singleton paving the way to an 18-10 advantage. The Lady Sharks countered with eight consecutive tallies, capped by Sydney Robinson’s ace by even the issue at 18-18.

Strban’s left baseline winner put Alvin ahead for good at 19-18, though, and kills by Garza and Wright fended off another Shadow Creek rally a little later.

While falling a little short, the Lady Sharks remained resilient to capture the third set with Collins providing a game-point kill. Collins then combined with Clark and Kelly Kelsick for key fourth game SC spikes to tie the match at two games apiece with Blair Jefferson drilling a pair of aces, as well.

With the issue now up for grabs, Kunefke had a simple message for her team entering the fifth and decisive set.

“I told them to put any negative thoughts about would have, could have and should have by the wayside,” she said. “It was time to put our foot on the gas and play for each other.”

Which the Lady Jackets did in the fifth with G... Click here to read full article

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