On Friday night, our Varsity Lady Eagles earned an exciting victory in four sets over Cy-Ridge with the ending scores of 25-15, 25-13, 22-25, 25-23.

The match began with the Eagle’s ready to fly, and quickly racked up points from the front row. Middle blocker, Kaitlyn Hooper (11), did an amazing job at consistently ripping the ball through the Rams’ defense. A promising lead was established early, and as Ridge tried to swing back, their attempts were in vain against our front row blocks and the back row digs.

Still lit with energy from snagging the first set so quickly, the second set started with a huge block from middle blocker, Laila Collins (10), and right side hitter, Demi Lacy (12). The team moved with a swiftness that Ridge could not keep up with. Back row players such as libero, Morgan Nix (11), and defensive specialist, Taylor Porter (12), were especially helpful with near perfect passes on every attempt, which would result in a nicely placed set, and then yet another point.

In the third, the Eagle’s started out with them jumping their highest on swings and crouching their lowest to prevent every ball from hitting the floor. Again, a lead was established early, but as they came near to the end, the girls made small mistakes such as missing their serves and blocking errors. This didn’t stop outside hitter,  Caitlyn Carmody (11), from constantly nailing the ball into Ridge.

In the fourth, and final set, the girls carried a small weight of defeat from losing the previous one, allowing the Rams’ to take a lead. Almost silent on the court, the bench was loud and really tried to encourage their teammates into digging deep within themselves in order to pull out a win.

A huge block from Hooper and Lacey gave the team the spark of confidence they needed to play a game that was already theirs. Setter, Eryn Castaneda (12), moved the ball around the court with great finesse, but one particular set to Carmody was easily the highlight of the night. Carmody did her approach, as she had many times before, and drilled the ball down. The ball moved out into middle of the Rams’ court but then curved inward and dropped onto their back line. This set the entire gym onto their feet in celebration.

This match was a win the Eagle’s needed as it secured their spot as fifth in the district.

The Lady Eagle’s next game is at 5:30 p.m. on September 25 at home.