Warriors emerge with sweep at Creek Valley

The shot that clinched Tuesday’s rematch between Leyton and Creek Valley was an accident.

With the Warriors’ on top by a narrow 23-20 margin, Diedra Waite occupied a spot on the back line, watching a terse battle at the net. Suddenly the ball ricocheted her direction. The talented freshman threw out both arms, more as a desperate reaction than a considered reply.

“It was very chaotic,” Waite said of the resulting point. “I thought it wasn’t going to go. It was a scary moment.”

Her accidental shot through a surprised Storm defense secured set point. Kassandra Harris closed out a 25-20 win from the service line, backing up Leyton’s 25-19 opener.

In their previous meeting, Creek Valley pushed both sets into volleyball’s version of overtime, falling 33-31 and 29-27. In the aftermath of another tense 2-0 sweep of their rivals, the Warriors realized the importance of their effort.

“It means a lot,” Kaitlyn Berner noted. “It’s probably the best win of our year.”

Both sides had knocked off Haxtun in the triangular’s opening rounds. Then in set one, Leyton nudged out to a relatively comfortable win, thanks in part to Berner, Harris, Kelsey Waite and Shaela Jenkins feeding on the meaty sets of Katy Ernest.

Creek Valley had staged a rally behind Jill Behrends’ serves, but could only stay close in the end.

The second set was more of the donnybrook fans expected. Ernest knotted things at 6-6 with an unexpected two-hand tap into Creek Valley’s back line from a set position. Moments later, the Storm’s Summer Mueller returned the favor, lofting a one arm shot into an empty midcourt space then winning a service point to even the affair at 8-8.

Behrends converted a sneaky tap into a temporary Storm advantage, but the hosts could not sustain the serve and the set was again tied at 11-all—and so it went:  17-17 after  Leyton’s Diedra Waite won a fight at the nylon, 18-18 when Creek Valley’s Madison Blackwelder sliced a return past the Warriors’ defense.

“We’re evenly matched,” Behrends pointed out. “We just needed momentum.”

Hannah Schievelbein tried to gain some for Creek Valley. She conquered the Warriors' front line in a brief but frenzied back and forth brawl at the net, drawing the hosts within a point, 21-20.

But the winds turns against the Storm. Leyton’s Harris managed to piece together the only service run of the set’s second half to ensure the Warriors victory.

“They had some good plays and we had some good plays,” said Creek Valley’s Stefanie Mitchell. “In the end, they had a few more.”

Leyton is now 17-1 on the season. Creek Valley's record stands at 8-3.

Leyton 25 25

Creek Valley 19 20

Leyton pens Bulldogs

The Warriors dispatched Haxton with little trouble, 25-8 and 25-9.

“We’re improving—working better as a team,” Harris said of the night’s experience.

Harris, Berner, Jenkins and the Waite sisters dominated at the net, silencing the Bulldogs’ big freshman Callie Dickerson. But Leyton’s scoring stars credit perfect sets and the presence of a steady back line anchored by libero Carly Rushman—just in case.

“It’s good up front if we have coverage,” Kelsey Waite pointed out. “We need to feel safe.”

Creek Valley sweeps opener

The Storm battered visiting Haxton in the triangular’s initial contest, 25-13, but it wasn’t  a romp from the start.

Creek Valley jumped to an 8-2 advantage, but the visitor’s roared back, closing to within two. But Blackwelder set the Storm back on course with a brilliant overhead bump to save a wild pass. The shot fell into open space, edging the lead to 12-9.

Blackwelder then reeled off five straight points from the line, aided by an opportunistic tap by Schievelbein that confounded the Bulldogs’ back line.

“I try to aim for gaps,” she said with a humble shrug. “The biggest thing is to make sure it’s in play.”

The Storm never looked back in the first set, but struggled in the second, both sides trading points through the first half.

But veteran Shania Brown beat the Bulldogs with a pair of aces. Mitchell began to dominate the net with clever taps. Blackwelder sliced a wicked diagonal past bewildered defenders. Just that quickly  Creek Valley was on their way to another easy win.

But, as Blackwelder explained, “they came back, stepped up their game.”

Haxton erased a 22-15 Creek Valley lead, turning the final minutes into an excruciating back and forth battle that extended beyond the 25 point mark.

With the score knotted at 25-all, Schievelbein redirected a set from Blackwelder, tipping the balance int Creek Valley’s favor. When the Bulldogs’ Sabra Kipp fired wide on a return shot, the home side claimed a hard fought 27-25 win—and sweep.

“As we got into the second, we lost intensity,” Blackwelder admitted. “But this is our house.”

Coach Roger Behrends noted the momentum shift, but credited basics for his squad’s eventual victory.

“Our hitters weren’t on,” he said. “But our passing is solid all the time.”