Boyd-Buchanan Rallies From Early Deficit To Sweep Red Bank

The Boyd-Buchanan volleyball team didn't have a very good start in its match with Red Bank Monday afternoon.

But they had a bang-bang finish and that was the difference as the Lady Bucs recovered from a big hole in the first set to post a 3-0 win over the Lionettes.

 Set scores were 25-23, 25-23 and 25-20.

Everything seemed to go Red Bank's way as the Lionettes raced to a commanding 16-4 lead.

They were still in control at 19-13 before the Lady Bucs started their comeback.

A kill from Asia Kirkman tied the score at 21-all.  It was all knotted at 22 and 23 before the Lady Bucs scored the last two points for the win.

 Boyd-Buchanan bolted to a 4-0 lead and had the upper hand most of the way in the second set, although Red Bank did have leads of 12-11 and 16-14.  The Lady Bucs came up short on two straight volleys as Red Bank built its biggest lead at 18-15, but the Lady Bucs rallied to tie the score at 19.

 Boyd-Buchanan then scored five of the next six points before taking a 2-0 on a kill from Maddie Van Eaton.

The Lionettes had brief leads on two occasions early in the third set, but the Lady Bucs were on their game and able to win the final set much easier than the first two.

 "We have a new lineup this year, but so far it's been working pretty good," said Boyd-Buchanan coach Alfie Dodd after his team had improved to 7-3 for the season.

"We needed to play aggressive volleyball and that's what we did.  We always seem to play nervous at the start and we had another slow beginning, but it's better than it has been.

"We lost a lot of really good players from last year's team, so the defense has been carrying us so far.  Abbie Sewell is one of our seniors who has stepped up big so far and has been a really nice surprise," Dodd added.

Red Bank coach Mandi Munn knows the season is still young and that her team will get better as they get more accustomed to playing with each other.

"I've been better," she began her post-match comments.

"We haven't found our groove yet as we're still trying to put the pieces in the right place.  We've got to learn how to play together, but we'll get there.

"We had a nice lead in that first set as the ball seemed to be falling our way, but we got frustrated when they came back.  We just have to be tougher mentally," she added.

Kirkman was the hitting star for the Lady Bucs as she finished the match with nine kills and 13 digs. Sarah Emrey was credited with 21 assists for the winners.

Smith had nine kills and a dozen digs for the Lionettes while Megan Paradis had nine assists.  Sam Wright had nine digs and Susie Marler eight for Red Bank.

Red Bank returns to action on Tuesday with a three-way meet at home with Tyner and Howard.  The Lady Bucs have a few days to practice before hosting CGLA on Thursday.

RED BANK STATS:

Marjorie Smith -- 9 kills, 2 aces, 12 digs

Janie Smith -- 6 kills

Jasmine Simpson -- 3 kills, 2 blocks

Cameron Gardner -- 1 kill

Marris Rennolds -- 2 kills

Layla Babb -- 2 kills, 1 block

Sam Wright -- 3 aces, 9 digs

Susie Marler -- 8 digs

Megan Paradis -- 9 assists

Cassidy Payne -- 3 aces, 5 assists.

BOYD-BUCHANAN STATS:

Abbie Sewell -- 5 digs, 5 aces

Sarah Emrey -- 4 digs, 6 kills, 21 assists, 1.5 blocks

Asia Kirkman -- 13 digs, 9 kills, 1 ace

Erin Syring -- 5 kills, 1.5 blocks, 1 ace

Maddie Van Eaton -- 3 digs, 6 kills, 1 assist

Meredith Balthrop -- 5 digs, 6 kills, 7 assists, 1 ace

Mackenzie Mann -- 1 dig, 3 kills, 1 block.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)