Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Volleyball: Gate City quells Bobcats' rally try
The Blue Devils move on to Richmond after scoring 14 of the last 17 points against Radford.
varsity.roanoke.com
Timesland on Twitter
GATE CITY -- Radford nearly pulled off another amazing rally before running out of gas.
Down 2-0 at Gate City Tuesday night in the Group A volleyball quarterfinals, the Bobcats won the third game and controlled the fourth before their comeback try -- and the season -- ended.
Scoring 14 of the last 17 points, the Blue Devils advanced to Friday's semifinals in Richmond with a 25-13, 25-15, 20-25, 25-20 decision.
When Brittany Sampson's final kill tickled the top of the net and hit the floor, Radford's Blair Holbrook slumped to the floor in disbelief.
Teammates' shoulders slumped as they shook hands with Gate City.
"I was thinking it was going to be the same thing as Galax," outside hitter Haley Dietz said. "Come back, win the third one, win the fourth one, take it to a fifth one and win it."
That's the route the Bobcats (16-9) traveled to reach their first state tournament in 15 years. After losing the first two games in Saturday's Region C semifinals, they stormed back to win the next three games.
A repeat of Saturday certainly crossed the mind of coach Toni Wright-Franklin.
"We're down, but we're not out when we lose the first two," she said. "They can bring it back as quickly as anyone I've ever been around. You can't get too down because they'll come back and do something."
Which is what Radford did, even after looking totally outclassed in the first two games against a Gate City team that's shooting for its fourth state title in six years.
With 6-foot middle hitter Maryah Sydnor supplying two kills and three blocks in a 10-point run early in the third game, the Bobcats roared to an 11-3 lead and forced a fourth game on Dietz's ace.
Another Sydnor block put Radford in control of the fourth game with a 17-11 lead, forcing the Blue Devils (23-1) to call timeout and silencing a partisan audience.
"I definitely didn't want a fifth game, because you never know what's going to happen," Gate City coach Amy Reed said.
Reed and her team didn't have to find out.
With Sampson, Lindsey Burke and Erica Fugate pounding down kills on 11 of the last 14 points, the Blue Devils quashed Radford's hopes of a winner-take-all game.
"We just couldn't finish it," Sydnor said.
Sydnor ended with 16 kills and seven blocks despite spending large parts of the first two games on the back row because the Bobcats were so out of rhythm.
Setter Lindsey Smith added 27 assists and 20 digs, while Dietz wound up with seven kills and a dozen digs.
While their faces showed no satisfaction in a moral victory, Sydnor, Dietz and Radford at least took pride in getting to this point.
"Nobody thought we could make it," Sydnor said. "Nobody gave us a shot."
