For more photos of this event by Rick Nation, go here
By Chris Morgan
Truli Bates (22) tries to get an attack through a block. (Photo by Rick Nation)
The Bryant Lady Hornets volleyball team faced off in a 6A-Central conference match Tuesday night falling to the Cabot Lady Panthers 3-0. Both teams going into the match were 1-3 in conference play, both beating Central.
In game one, the Lady Panthers starting things pulling out to 3-0 lead before committing a passing error followed up by a block from Bryant’s Truli Bates and Ivory Russ.
Following up a Bryant serving error, Bates came through with a kill to tie the game 4-4.
After a Lady Panther kill the Lady Hornets gave up back to back errors, but rallied. The comeback was capped with an ace from Lexi Brown who came back with another ace, giving the Lady Hornets the lead 8-7, before both teams traded scoring to a score of 13-12.
A Cabot kill tied the match, then Beatrix Hernandez pulled up with a solo block to give the Lady Hornets the lead 14-13.
The Lady Panthers went on to tie the match 16-16. Bryant went on to allow four unanswered points putting the Lady Panthers past the 20-point mark.
Head coach Beth Solomon talks to her team during a timeout. (Photo by Rick Nation)
The Lady Hornets recollected with a kill from Hernandez, but Cabot countered their run, scoring three to make the score 23-18, forcing the Lady Hornets to use a timeout.
Off the break, Bryant got a kill from Emma Buiting, but a carrying foul put the Lady Panthers at match point. Aided by a Cabot error Bryant broke the 20-point mark and back to back blocks by Buiting and Madelyn Hoskins put the Lady Hornets back with-in one point, before a missed hit gave the Lady Panthers the first game.
Hernandez opened up scoring for Bryant in game two with a tip kill making the score 1-1. Both teams traded scoring to a 7-7 tie. A Cabot kill, and an ace broke the stalemate as Cabot pulled a head 10-7.
Lexi Brown serves for Bryant. (Photo by Rick Nation)
The Lady Hornets answered with another tip kill from Hernandez as well as an ace from Buiting. A Lady Panther ace evened the game at 10-10 before the Lady Hornets committed a serving error.
Cabot scored an ace, as the Lady Hornets had a missed pass. Russ picked up a tip kill to stop the Lady Panther run, before Hernandez had a kill forcing a ballhandling error from Cabot to bring the game back to one point.
On the opposing rally, the Lady Hornets had a serving error as well as back to back attacking errors. The Lady Panthers went on with a kill to win four straight points, as the Lady Hornets called a timeout.
Back to back serving errors by Cabot followed. But a kill to move the score 18-14. Brown picked up an ace as the Lady Hornets pulled the game back to two points, but a miscommunication on defense allowed for a soft tip from the Lady Panthers.
With the game tied at 20, the Lady Panthers picked up an ace as well as a block to take the lead.
The Lady Hornets had a passing error which would have put Cabot at game point, but the Lady Hornets challenged the call, saying the Lady Panthers had crossed over, an appeal that held up..
A kill past the Lady Hornets blockers put the Cabot at match point, and a missed pass gave Cabot the game.
Emma Buiging (14) and Cora Edwards (12) go up for a block. (Photo by Rick Nation)
In game three, the Lady Hornets received a foul for reaching over the net for the first point of the game. On the next ball, the Lady Hornets were cited again with a four-touch foul. The Lady Hornets’ first point of the game came from a kill by Hoskins.
A service error as well as a Cabot block put the Lady Panthers back up two points 4-2.
A kill from Hernandez kept the game at one point before a Lady Hornet serving error which was followed by a tip from Bates. A Cabot challenged held up.
The Lady Panthers would pick up a block and an ace as the Lady Hornets committed two hitting errors putting Cabot up 5.
The Lady Hornets picked up back to back kills from Bates as well as Faith Stone. Cassie Ray served up an ace, and Stone scored with another kill cutting the score to 13-11 and forcing a Cabot timeout.
When play resumed, the Lady Hornets had a serving error but responded with a block from Hernandez and another kill from Stone.
An attacking error by the Lady Panthers would tie the match 14-14, before a Cabot block and a miscommunication from the Lady Hornets bumped up the edge for the Lady Panthers to 17-14.
Both teams traded points before a Cabot kill broke the trading spree. Bryant responded with a kill from Hoskins only to have the Lady Panthers counter with a spike that broke through the Lady Hornets’ blockers. A passing mistake put the Lady Panthers at match point.
But Cabot struggled to close out the match as Bates picked up a solo block making the score 24-21. A four-touch foul against the Lady Panthers gave light to a Lady Hornets comeback trimming the lead to two, But on the resulting serve, the match ended by a serving error.
The Lady Hornets travel to Greenbrier for the Battle of the Brier tournament this weekend. Their first match will be against Green Forest starting at 9 a.m. The team’s overall record moves to 3-7-1. They are 1-4 in conference.
