After dropping the second set to the Sullivan East Lady Patriots, the Lady Cyclones were able to regain their composure for a 3-1 win inside John Treadway Gym Thursday evening.
“We have played this team before, and they are a very good team,” said EHS senior Madyson Smith. “We just knew that we had to dig deep if wanted to beat them.”
With the win, the Lady Cyclones moved to 9-2 in the Three Rivers Conference, allowing them to clinch second place behind Sullivan South. The Lady Patriots are now 7-4 in the TRC.
“It’s huge to come in and clinch second place.” EHS head coach Leslee Bradley. “We knew coming into the season that we were going to have a strong team. But you have to show up every night on the court and do it.”
The Lady Cyclones stormed out to a 25-20 win in the first set. However, the Lady Patriots found some rhythm in the second set as they pushed out to a 25-22. However, the win did not come easy as the Lady Cyclones fought off two set points before dropping the set.
Behind the serving of junior Sydney Goodsell, the Lady Cyclones jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the third set with EHS senior Sarah Slagle hammering home a kill to give her team a four-point lead. The Lady Patriots fought back as they won eight-straight points to take a 12-10. The set knotted up at 14 before the Lady Cyclones pulled away for a 25-17 win. Freshman Morgan Smith blasted in the game-winning kill in the third set.
The final set would see Madyson Smith serve in eight straight to help the Lady Cyclones pull out to a 19-9 lead before EHS rolled on out to a 25-12 win.
“Volleyball is a sport about momentum,” Smith said. “So once you are gaining points it is a lot of momentum for the whole team. It was just great for our team as whole to stay up and happy.”
Smith finished the night with nine kills and three service aces. Freshman Morgan Smith closed things out with six kills while senior Chloe Hambrick had five. Madyson and Morgan Smith had 21 and 14 assists, respectively.
Defensively, junior Mary Beth Biggs had 25 digs, while Hambrick recorded 20.
The Lady Cyclones will head over to South Greene on Monday before hosting Johnson County Tuesday for senior night.