Lady Coyotes sweep by CV

POTTER – Potter-Dix found three different ways to win Thursday night.

The Lady Coyotes (12-2) won a nip-and-tuck battle in game one, roared back from a 7-1 deficit in game two and jumped out to the early lead in game three to sweep visiting Creek Valley 25-20, 25-19 and 25-16.

Potter-Dix coach Sarah Dvorak said her team started a bit slow, but eventually got rolling by game three.

"It took us two full sets to get where we needed to be," she said. "The third set was where we usually start out. That's where we need to be in the first set, not the third set. They played it out to the end of each set and got the win in three sets, so I'm happy with that."

Game one was back and forth early on before the Lady Coyotes broke through with four straight kills two from Dawson Sharman and one each from Audrey Juelfs and Alexus Rozelle – for an 11-7 lead. Creek Valley (7-5) cut its deficit to 13-11, before Potter-Dix stretched its lead back out with an Anna McLaughlin kill and back-to-back aces by Rozelle for a 16-11 advantage. Creek Valley had one last hurrah in the game with kills from Katie Burch, Payje Misegadis and Joey Straber to make it a 22-19 game, but Potter-Dix once again pulled away with a trio of Rozelle kills to win the opener.

One big advantage in game one was at the serving line, where the Lady Coyotes had five aces while the Storm did not have one.

Creek Valley stormed its way to an early lead in game two with two kills from Jessie Straber, a Misegadis block and Chandra Smith ace for an early 7-1 advantage.

"You know, I had to call a time out. I said, just blow it off, take a deep breath and go get it," Dvorak said. "And they're really good about pulling themselves out of big holes and they really stepped it up and got point by point back to where we needed to be, and I said, 'Hey, new game right here, let's go.'"

The Lady Coyotes slowly pulled themselves back into the game. They knotted things up at 16-all on back-to-back kills from Sharman, which was the first tie of the game since 1-1. Rozelle put Potter-Dix up 19-18 with a kill, her first of three in the final seven points for the home team, en route to a 25-19 game two win. After trailing 7-1, the Lady Coyotes outscored the Storm 24-11 to win the game.

Potter-Dix continued its hot streak in game three. The Lady Coyotes jumped out to a 9-3 advantage and never looked back on their way to a 25-16 victory and a three-game sweep. Rozelle and Hicks each had the hot hand for the home team with four kills a piece in the final game.

"When we get the points rolling from the get-go, right at the beginning, that's when we dominate the best, and obviously the first two sets we weren't rolling with that right away. I think that's where we struggled and we were a little flustered, but they fought through and finished all three sets," Dvorak said.

Rozelle led the Lady Coyotes offensively with a match-high 17 kills to go with two aces and a pair of blocks. Sharman chipped in with 10 kills, while Hicks added seven kills and three aces.

Misegadis was the top scorer for the Storm with five blocks and four kills, while Jessie Straber had a team-high eight kills.

Creek Valley returns to the court Tuesday at Haxton (Colo.) in a triangular that also includes Leyton. Potter-Dix is back in action Tuesday at Bayard in a triangular that also includes Kimball.

"We have all returning starters," Dvorak said. "We have a lot of experience. We have a lot more leadership this year. We have five strong hitters, a strong libero and our setter is getting the job done, so I'm very pleased with where we're at right now."