Third-set comeback spurs volleyball team
The Wolf Pack volleyball team stared a loss in the face, but persevered.
In a tough third set against Fresno State, Nevada weathered four straight set points to come back and shock its opponent. With the game going into extra points, the Wolf Pack put up a 7-1 run to finish it 27-25.
“We knew we could beat them,” Lindsay Baldwin said.
The win Thursday brought the Wolf Pack back to .500 on the season. The game marked the second match up between the two teams in a single week. The first was held on the previous Saturday that also resulted in a Wolf Pack win.
The game, which was decided in four sets, showed off the offensive muscle of the Wolf Pack hitters. Two hitters from Nevada posted double digits in kills, Kylie Harrington with 10 and Baldwin with a match-high 19 kills. Setter Sonnie Sei made the powerful offense possible with 39 assists throughout the match.
“We just clicked with the setter tonight,” Baldwin said.
The comeback sparked a rhythm for the fourth set that had been missing throughout the match. Nevada shut down the Bulldogs across the board with strong defensive performances from Nicole Link and Allison Hernandez, who together posted 29 digs, 13 of which in the last set alone. The strong defensive play hurt the struggling Bulldogs, who recorded a -5 percent kill ratio in the final set. The result left the Wolf Pack an easy and decisive win with a score of 25-11 in the fourth and final set.
“The team started to serve better,” Nevada coach Devin Scruggs said. “Lindsey was really hitting well.”
While the win brought the team back to .500 on the season, it wasn’t long before it was below again. Nevada played No. 9 Hawaii on Saturday in front of a packed house. The Warriors sat atop the division and had been unstoppable until a recent loss to BYU. However the momentum from Thursday’s win, and the filled gym were not enough to topple the powerhouse Warriors.
Nevada battled back and forth with Hawaii, keeping the game close throughout much of the first set, yet late in the game they lost their stride. Hawaii dominated the net with big tough hitters that controlled the tempo of the game. Link and Hernandez again provided a strong defense for the Wolf Pack posting 19 of the teams 28 digs, but the Warrior’s offensive firepower proved to be too much.
“The back row did a really great job early on, we had a lot of touches on the ball,” Scruggs said. “Hawaii just had too many weapons.”
The match ended in three sets with Hawaii winning 25-19, 25-20 and 25-17. The Rainbow Wahine outblocked the Wolf Pack almost 2-1 and the defense held Nevada to 8 percent on kills by the third set. The win elevated Hawaii to a 15-3 record with 8-1 in the division. Nevada fell to 9-10 on the season with a 4-5 record in the division.
But not all went wrong, though, as Nevada saw a breakout performance from Erin Garvey, who led the team in kills during the match (8).
“I was getting the quick sets, which allowed me to hit the ball harder,” Garvey said.
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on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 1:01 am and is filed under Sports, Volleyball.
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