NTL VOLLEYBALL: NEB COMES UP SHORT IN 5-SET THRILLER AGAINST MOUNTAIN VIEW (2024-11-05)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportKINGSLEY — Seasons don’t end any harder than they did for NEB volleyball on Tuesday, falling 3-2 to Mountain View in the first round of the PIAA, Class A Championships. The Panthers were leading the deciding set 12-8 but ended up falling 17-15.
The Panthers dug themselves in a hole, losing the first two sets 25-22 and 26-24, but winning the next two sets 25-17 and 25-19.
“When we were down by two I thought they would give up, and just throw in the towel,” said NEB coach Vanessa Perez. “They kept fighting, and I couldn’t be more proud. I’ve had this group of girls their entire time, and it’s been wonderful to just watch them grow. We have a lot of seniors, and it’s hard to end this way - it’s kind of bitter sweet.”
Toni Herb had a double-double of 20 kills and 17 digs to go with two aces, and an assist, as Abby O’Connor had 12 kills, two assists, and two aces.
Kelsea Moore had a double-double of 27 assists and 13 digs, plus four aces and a kill, with Kiarra DeLancey getting 11 digs, eight assists, and four aces.
Abby Chobot had six kills, and eight digs, while Zaelea Lane notched nine digs, and Sayde Heines chipped in with two, plus a kill.
This season came full circle for NEB as they opened with a 3-0 win over Mountain View.
The Eagles did a good job hitting line, which is something NEB hasn’t seen much of this season. After a slow start the Panthers seemed to find their groove in the third set, through the fourth.
They opened the fifth with a 4-0 lead, only to see Mountain View rally back to tie it up at 4-4. After trading points the Panthers out scored them 7-3 to take the four point lead, but Mountain View ended on a 9-3 spurt to get the match.
It was a slow start for the Panthers as the Eagles jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set, behind three kills and an ace.
The Panthers would cut it to 5-4, but a 5-1 run by Mountain View saw them extend the lead.
NEB rallied again, cutting it to 12-11 at one point on an Abby O’Connor kill, while Mountain View used a tip kill from Rachel Evans, and a block out of Addison Kilmer to go up three points.
After an Herb kill, Mountain View rattled off three straight points for a 17-12 advantage, forcing NEB to call a timeout.
They held that lead up through 21-16, with NEB calling another timeout. Back to back Toni Herb kills made it 21-18, but another Evans kill, followed by an Addison Tompkins ace put the score at 23-18.
A pair of Mountain View errors cut it to 23-20, but a Panther service error put them on the brink. They got an O’Connor kill, and a Mountain View cup call to make it a 2-point contest, but a Kilmer gave the Eagles the first game.
The second set as back and forth early, with the two times knotting up at seven.
Mountain View would rattle off three straight points to go up 10-7, and later used two straight kills and a Tompkins ace for a 13-9 lead.
NEB would get two points back after calling a timeout, and kept chipping away as an Herb kill made it 15-14.
After trading points Kelsea Moore hit on four straight serves to put NEB up 19-16.
Mountain View returned the favor, though, scoring four of the next five points to tie things up at 20-all.
The Eagles scored the next two points on a Ryleigh Kilmer ace, and Karley Norton kill.
A Mountain View service error made it a 1-point contest, but the Eagles scored back to back points after that to go up 24-21.
Back to back kills out of Herb made it a 1-point match again, then the Panthers tied it up after an Eagles hit into the net.
However, NEB had a net attack of their own, then saw Evans secure the win with a push kill.
The Panthers came roaring out of the gates in the third set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead behind two aces and a kill from Herb, and a kill from O’Connor and Abby Chobot each.
After a Mountain View timeout O’Connor added another kill to put NEB up 8-2. The Eagles cut it to 8-5, but kills from Chobot and Herb extended the lead back to 10-5.
From there the Panthers kept adding to it, going up 15-7 off an Herb hit for their biggest advantage.
Mountain View would slowly chip away, cutting git to 17-13 and forcing an NEB timeout.
A pair of Mountain View errors, followed by a Moore kill saw NEB push their advantage to 20-13.
The Eagles would cut it to a 5-point deficit, 22-17, but three straight Mountain View errors pushed NEB to their first win.
After a 3-3 tie to start the fourth set, Mountain View would go on a mini-run to take a 6-4 lead.
NEB came back to score three straight points to go up 7-6. Mountain View punched back with four straight points for a 10-7 advantage.
They would use back to back kills from Norton, followed by a Tompkins ace, to build a 14-8 lead.
That’s when the NEB rally began, beginning with an Herb kill. They would get it to 15-11, then back to back kills by Herb, followed by back to back aces from Moore saw the score tied at 15-all.
The two teams would once again be tied at 17-17, 18-18, and 19-19, before back to back points out of O’Connor saw NEB take a 21-19 lead, and force the Eagles to take a timeout.
Coming out of the break a Mountain View hit went into the net, followed by an O’Connor ace put the Panthers two points away.
Back to back errors out of the Eagles gave NEB those points, as they sent the match to a fifth set.
In the final set NEB used Mountain View errors to take a 4-0 lead, but then had a few errors of their own, plus a pair of Norton aces, knotted things up again.
After trading points an Herb kill sparked a 5-1 NEB run to put them up 10-6. Mountain View cut it to 10-8, but back to back errors from the Eagles pushed the Panthers up four and three points away from the win.
A Norton kill, followed by an NEB hit into the net made it 12-10, and prompted a Panther timeout.
That did little to stem the tied as Tompkins served up an ace, followed by Norton getting a kill to tie things up.
Herb ended the rally with a kill of her own, but back to back hits out of Mountain View saw them take a 14-13 lead.
NEB tied it up off an Eagles’ net serve with Kilmer putting Mountain View up with a kill. A Mountain View net serve tied tings up again.
Kilmer would put the Eagles up with a kill, and an NEB passing miscue gave Mountain View the 2-point set win, and match victory.
Despite the setback it was quite the career for the six NEB seniors. In two years they made history by winning back to back league titles, back to back district titles, and had back to back state tournament appearances.
“They put us on the map,” Perez said. “It was a program, for a long time, we couldn’t even win a game, and now we have excitement. There’s people that want to play volleyball. It’s just fun to watch it grow.”
— —
PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
Print Friendly Version
