It lived up to the hype but it was the Lady Rams who got the win over EP in straight set in Port Byron on Thursday night.
The first set went to the Rams 25-22. With the score tied at 5, Riverdale went on a 7-0 run fueled by back-to-back aces by Cayleigh Hungate to give the Lady Rams a 12-5 advantage. Following an EP timeout, the Lady Panthers closed the gap to 14-12 with kills by Kayler Pritchard and Alaina Frank.
Riverdale rallied, out scoring EP 7-2 to push their lead to 21-14. After another timeout by EP, they got on a roll. A kill by Frank and a nifty tip at the net by Lauren Punke made it 21-18. The Panthers got within two but no closer.
The second set was tied at three before the Rams took a three point lead. but EP battled back to tie the set at 8. The hosts edged ahead with a 3-0 run but the Lady Panthers responded to make it a one point deficit, 13-12.
In what was the point of the night and seemed to be the turning point of the set, the teams combined for 31 touches, several spectacular saves, and a block by each team before a spike by Pritchard appeared to be touched by a Ram’s player before going out, but the point was awarded to Riverdale. The point was followed by an ace by Riverdale and a Panther timeout with the score 16-12. The break did little to change the momentum of the Lady Rams as they outscored the visitors 9-5 the rest of the set to take it 25-17 and win the match.
EP coach Rachel Bramm felt her team had to battle through some frustration in the loss. “I agree that the turning point of both set were times when there were questionable calls that we felt didn’t go our way. Unfortunately in the game of volleyball, not every call is going to be correct, but it’s all about how you respond to those moments. I asked the girls to rise above the frustration that those moments caused, and I think that they did a great job doing just that”
Riverdale improves to 15-6 (6-0) with the Lady Panthers dropping to 13-6-2 (5-1).
“It was a great, hard fought match that we unfortunately just made too many errors in,” added Bramm. “Fortunately, we learn as much, if not more, from losses than we do wins, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity for the team to grow from tonight’s experience.”
EP will travel to Sterling on Saturday for the Lady Golden Warrior’s Invitational to conclude a very busy week.
EP Stats
Kayler Pritchard: 5 kills (.444), 2 blocks
Alaina Frank: 9 kills (.286)
Ava Johnson: 4 kills
Emma Anderson: 11 digs, 1 ace
