Tyler Heffernan
Of Greenville Rose's seven matches this season, the Rampants have claimed 21 out of 23 games, with the last three coming at the expense of Hoggard on Thursday night as Rose won all three games and improved to 7-0.
Both teams showed stretches of dominance and disconnection in their first conference match of the season.
The first game proved why Rose is a perennial contender in the state. The hard-hitting Rampants often left the Vikings flailing helplessly at their powerful spikes on the way to a 25-16 win. Rose head coach Norman Cabacar said, "The whole team fundamentally took care of their position."
It appeared that the Rampants would cruise to a quick, two-game advantage as they built a commanding 23-12 lead in the second game. However, Hoggard didn't go down without a fight.
In a comeback highlighted by three aces from Hoggard outside hitter Jamie Jarrell, the Vikings climbed all the back to within one point at a 24-23. Two of the Rampants' serves didn't even clear the net, supplementing the Hoggard run.
"We had a very comfortable lead, and sometimes with this team, it has happened that they'll see a lead and get really relaxed," Cabacar said.
That was as close as they would get, though. Rose scored the next point to win the second game. Vikings head coach Ron Strickland said, "(Hoggard) started to see that when we were running our offense, we could play with them."
Despite trailing by two games, the Vikings raced out to an 18-12 lead. The success was short-lived, however, as they gave up 11 consecutive points to the Rampants. The match was capped off by Rose senior Ginny Howard's game-clinching kill after several volleys between the Mideastern Conference favorites.
"Both of these teams know that the road to the conference championship goes through each other," Strickland said. "I think realistically we're strong enough to play with them and maybe even beat them."
On Oct. 5, the Vikings will travel to the Rose Garden for a rematch.
25-15 (R), 25-23 (R), 25-11 (R)
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Cassidy places one down the middle |
Individual Stats
Jamie Jarrell - 9 kills, 3 aces, 1 block, 7 digs
Alyssa Campagna - 7 kills, 3 digs
Montgomery Register - 2 kills, 3 blocks
Amanda White - 21 digs, 1 assist
Kellie Esinhart - 12 digs
Shelly Saito - 3 kills, 1 block, 12 digs, 5 assists
Ellen Tootoo - 1 kill, 9 digs, 14 assists
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Kelli returns a short serve, and Monty is ready to help |
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