NTL VOLLEYBALL: TROY OUTLASTS TOWANDA IN FIVE SET WIN (2022-09-30)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA — It wasn’t always pretty, but on Thursday Troy was able to scrap for a 3-2 win over Towanda during NTL volleyball action.

It’s the third 5-set match for the 5-5 Trojans this year, as they’ve only had three of their 10 matches stick to the minimum three sets.

“It’s not my favorite thing to do, but it’s nice when we come out of it with the win,” said Troy coach Abby Herman.

The Trojans took league unbeaten NPL to five sets earlier this year, and recently defeated NEB in five sets.

“We would like to do it in three,” said Meredith Cole. “But five sets, we can always handle it.”

Cole may have had the play of the match, when, in the fifth set, she had a diving dig near the out of bounds line. She got it clean enough to send it over the net, and it found the floor for a key Trojan point.

They were leading just 8-5 at the time, and Towanda had momentum after a big Winter Saxer block.

“I didn’t know if it was going to be in or out,” explained Cole. “I kind of just went, and was praying that it was going to go over, and on the other side.”

Cole finished with 14 kills, six aces, and six digs on the night, as Madison Vargas added eight kills, 17 assists, an ace, five digs, and a block.

Kali Ayres had five kills, 19 assists, four aces, and five digs, while Savannah Spencer had nine kills, and two blocks.

Josie Kerrick notched three kills, three aces, three digs, and a block, with Alyssa Johnson getting three kills, and an ace. Rachel Jackson chipped in with a kill, and four digs, Lydia Lewis had two kills, an ace, and eight digs, and Aryana Andrus finished with a kill to go with two blocks.

For the Knights, Paige Manchester had 13 points, 18 kills, three blocks, and 12 digs, as Shaylee Greenland had nine points, one kill, 15 digs, and 15 assists.

Brynn Woodruff had nine points, and a dig, as Addie Maynard finished with six points, and 12 digs. 

Gracie Schoonover notched six kills, while Kaitlyn Williams had three blocks, and four blocks. Saxer ended up with eight points, eight kills, six blocks, and seven digs.

Brea Overpeck notched eight points, three kills, five digs, and six assists, as Aziza Ismailova finished with 22 digs, and an assist.

Towanda breezed to a 25-17 first set win, but the second was tight, as the two teams found themselves tied 13-all.

That’s when Troy rattled off eight straight points to go up 21-13. However, Towanda had a rally of their own, out scoring the Trojans 6-1 to cut it to 23-19. 

The Knights got it even closer, as two straight net touches by Troy made it 24-22. However, after a Troy timeout, they would get the final point for the 25-22 win.

The next set was just as tight, with the two teams staying locked together up to 18-18. Troy would get back to back kills to take a 20-18 lead, but a net serve followed by a Schoonover kill tied things back up again.

After the two teams traded points Schoonover had two straight kills to put the Knights up 23-21, prompting Troy to call timeout.

It have worked as kills from Ayres and Cole tied things back up again. Lewis then put Troy up with an ace, followed by another Trojan kill to give them the 25-23 win, and 2-1 advantage.

The fourth set saw Towanda take an 8-4 lead early thanks to some strong serving from Greenland. They would more or less keep that cushion up to 16-14, when Manchester rattled off three straight kills pushed Towanda’s lead to 19-14. 

The Trojans would claw it back to 22-18 off an Ayres kill, but a double touch call on the Trojans, followed by a Saxer block, and an Overpeck ace gave the Knights the 25-18 victory.

Then came the deciding set, with Maynard giving Towanda an early 1-0 lead off an ace.

 

When it was 2-2, though, Vargas gave Troy a little cushion thanks to a kill, followed by an ace. The Trojans would ultimately go up 5-2, and kept that cushion up through Saxer’s block making for the 8-5 lead.

When Cole got that dig, though, Troy had the momentum, and carried that as they won six of the next eight points for the 15-7 deciding set victory.

Their last four points were a Cole kill, back to back points from Ayres, and a block at the net.

Despite the victory, Troy knows they have some things to clean up.

“We definitely struggle on defense a little bit, especially when it’s a hard hit,” said Herman. “The girls just need to communicate. It’s pretty much what it comes down to.”

Troy won the JV match 2-1, taking the first set 25-21. Towanda won the second 26-24, with Troy finishing off the third 16-14.

Brooklyn Evans had 11 points, five digs, two aces, six kills, and a block for the Knights while Layla Miller added four points, three digs, and a kill.

Allison Edsell had four points, and a kill, with Cadence Wells getting four points, two digs, and two kills. Lacie Coe had four points, with one dig, Kaya Johnson added three points, two kills, a block, two digs, and one assist, Woodruff had three points, four kills, two blocks, and three digs, with LilyAnn Sprule getting one point.

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PHOTO CAPTION: Troy players celebrate their win over Towanda…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING