By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
A big school, small school Southern Hills Athletic Conference volleyball match up came to Ripley High School on September 3 with the two conference schools along the Ohio River, the host Lady Jays welcoming to The Nest the Manchester Lady Greyhounds. On paper, the two teams seemed evenly matched and the action proved just that. The two teams battled back and forth for five sets, with the Lady Hounds coming back from a two sets to one deficit, rallying to take the final two sets and the match.
The visitors gained the upper hand in the match’s first set, taking an 8-4 lead behind the serving of senior Bristynn McClanahan. Ripley rallied back to within 12-11 after a series of serves from senior Ivy Bare but three quick points from the visitors extended their lead back to four points. With Manchester still on top 19-16, Lady Hounds’ senior Madison Calvert stepped back to serve and to say the least, “took care of business”. Calvert reeled off six consecutive service points and was aided by a trio of kills by sophomore Hayden Rideout as the Lady Hounds closed out the first set, 1 25-16 win.
The second set was close from beginning to end,tied eight times, with the first run going to Manchester, McClanahan serving again to a 7-5 advantage. Back and forth the two sides went and a Joselyn Lucas kill put the Lady Hounds up 14-10. The momentum then shifted to the home side with senior Kathryn Cox at serve. Cox ran off four straight points to put her team in front, only to see the Lady Hounds jump back in front on a McClanahan block. A tight race to the finish of the second set saw the Lady Jays grab a 23-19 lead on back-to-back service aces from sophomore Alyssa Tucker and then hang on as a Cox kill ended the set with the home team on top, 25-22.
All even now, the third set was nearly a mirror image of the second. numerous ties and numerous lead changes, a series of service points from senior Addilyn Hunter giving Manchester a 10-7 advantage. Ripley rallied to tie and the two teams swapped points until the Lady Jays’ Hailey Gatliff stepped back to serve and gave her team six straight, including two aces, to boost the Jays to a 21-15 lead. The home side retained that margin the rest of the way and when a Manchester return failed, the Lady Jays took a 2-1 lead with a 25-21 victory in the second set.
Now with their proverbial backs to the wall, Coach Morgan Johnson’s Lady Hounds found some renewed energy in the fourth set, senior Elliana Applegate serving them to a 6-3 lead and a later 8-0 run behind McClanahan serves and Rideout kills gave them a 14-6 lead. That control of the set stayed with the Manchester squad as they rolled through the set to a 25-15 win, evening the match at two sets apiece and setting up the always tense and decisive fifth set.
In that decisive set, the Lady Hounds led 2-0 after a Maddie Easter service ace, but a Jasmine Young kill gave the side out back to Ripley and a Gatliff service point tied the set at 2. Two ties and three lead changes later, the Lady Jays were on top 10-7 and looked to have taken control, but the Lady Hounds battled back to tie the set at 12 apiece on an Easter ace, which she followed up with another ace and now it was the visitors on the verge of victory, leading 14-12.
Not so fast, though. Ripley grabbed two straight points to tie the set only to see the Lady Hounds get back the side out for the lead and then win the match on an Applegate serve, taking the fifth set in exciting fashion, 16-14. For the Lady Jays, it was their second consecutive loss in conference play as just two nights earlier they had done something that hadn’t happened in a long while, taking North Adams to five sets before falling.
“My blood pressure is up a little at the moment,” Coach Johnson commented in her postgame radio interview. “I think Ripley covers the floor and move well and we just had to try and find some open spaces. They’re an aggressive team and don’t let the ball drop.”
“For us, it’s just about finding confidence in their different roles and trusting in the person next to you. We had the energy and communication tonight that we haven’t had lately. I think we can compete with anybody, just depending on which teams shows up.”
The loss dropped Ripley to 1-6 on the season (0-5 SHAC), while the Lady Hounds improved to 2-4, 2-1 in conference play. On the docket this week for the Lady Hounds are the two first place teams in the conference, a trip to Fayetteville on September 8 and then a home match up on September 10 with North Adams.