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Lady Knights prevail over Hume in three-set GVVC thriller
In a critical Golden Valley Vernon County conference matchup, the visiting Northeast Vernon County Lady Knights trumped the Hume Lady Hornets in three sets Tuesday night.
The victory improves NEVC to 9-1 overall and 7-1 in GVVC-play, while Hume moves to 8-10 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
Sparked by the serving of junior outside hitter Hannah Gorda, the Lady Hornets went on a 12-3 blitz to take a 19-13 first set lead.
A Malia McFrederick kill handed Hume a 21-15 edge. With Hume’s most powerful hitter, Gorda, serving an ace to make it match-point at 24-20, it seemed all but certain the Lady Hornets were on their way to a first set victory.
NEVC, however, stormed back, stunning Hume with five consecutive points to take a 25-24 lead. The Lady Knights then sealed the set, courtesy of sophomore Makinsey Conner’s service ace.
NEVC was unable to carry its momentum into the second set. With senior setter Karlee Metcalf serving, Hume jumped out to a 6-0 lead. NEVC then used a 9-5 run to get back in the match, closing Hume’s lead to 11-9. NEVC tied the match at 15-15, but from there the Lady Hornets began to pull away.
With Gorda serving, Hume closed out the set going away, winning 25-19.
NEVC looked sharp in the early stages of the third and decisive set, going in front 7-3. A 5-1 Lady Hornets run knotted the contest, 8-8.
The set continued to go back-and-forth, as a Kelly Dade ace put the Lady Knights up 10-9.
With Conner serving, NEVC took control of the match, going up by five points. A Kiersten Diamond ace gave NEVC a 19-13 advantage. Hume was unable to get any closer, with NEVC closing out the set on a Conner kill to nail down the 25-17 third set victory.
“I think the girls really pushed through hard times, with any sort of calls that maybe didn’t go their way,” said NEVC head coach Erica Mott. “And to be honest, our attitude was a little bit rough, but we still fought through it and came back from it and stayed positive.
“And that’s something we’ve been really good at this year — coming out of hard times (on the court), staying positive and really working hard.”
Mott said Conner was a difference-maker on the court.
“We’ve been working really hard to get her going, moving around on the floor,” noted Mott. “She’s great at basketball, she’s fast, and so I want to see that on the volleyball court. I told her, by the end of the volleyball season she should be able to dunk.”
Mott said she was also extremely impressed with the play of senior middle hitter, Mary Thoreson.
“She really stepped up,” said Mott, “coming back from a couple mistakes she made to work hard and stay positive. So I really commend her for that, because that’s the hardest thing to do, coming back from mistakes to do something great.”
NEVC has nearly doubled its win total from last season, with the Lady Knights winning just five games in 2016.
“Coming back from that was really crucial for us, and shows me how much (work) the girls have put in during the offseason and now the regular season,” said Mott, who is in her fifth season as the Lady Knights head coach.
“This is my first group from freshman to senior, so to push through and to see how much they’ve improved, is really awesome.”