Danville takes first area win with 5-set battle
· Yahoo Sports
Sep. 11—CADDO — After East Lawrence had taken back-to-back sets for the 2-1 lead, first-year Danville head coach Ryleigh Jones pulled her team in to stem the tide.
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"I was telling them, 'If we stay consistent, we're going to pull through.' We just had to keep communicating and keep swinging at the ball," Jones said. "'Don't sit down, when we mess up, let it go.'"
The Hawks (4-7, 1-1) came through on Thursday night.
Danville won consecutive sets to come back 3-2 (25-19, 17-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12) and earned the Hawks' first win of the season in Class 3A, Area 9 on the road.
"I thought we balled out," Jones said. "I've been telling the girls that they've got to go for every point, every play like it's their last. They really brought that tonight."
Middle Kennedy Borden stacked four blocks against East Lawrence (4-9, 0-1), adding 11 kills and three aces.
"I think we finally pulled it together and worked as a team," Borden said. "Nobody was playing for themselves or being selfish. We were together."
When the ship started to sway, Jones said Borden's defense is what helped keep the Hawks in it.
"Kennedy really stepped up today," Jones said. "I felt like she finished up at the net, but her blocking was great. She had some blocks that kept the whole team going."
Down 11-10 in the fifth set, Borden had a big block to even it up 11-11.
In the fourth set, fellow Danville middle Bella Berryman picked up back-to-back blocks and took the lead 13-12.
"That team is so competitive and they're so defensive," Borden said. "But we need to be able to go against teams like that, who can push back."
For the Eagles, errors spelled the end.
East Lawrence errors were the final points in the fourth and fifth sets.
In the fourth, the Eagles had the lead late 23-22 until three straight errors saw them lose it 25-23.
"When they start to focus on being perfect, and not just having fun, that's when they start making errors," said first-year East Lawrence head coach Savannah Kimbrell.
But Kimbrell said she thinks the Eagles are on the verge of clicking.
"We have a really good defense, but our offense hasn't gotten rolling yet," Kimbrell said. "I feel like this game, we finally got the offense rolling."
Despite the loss, East Lawrence's Macey Austin hauled in a game-high 22 kills and 16 digs. East Lawrence's Chloe Gatlin stacked 37 assists. East Lawrence's Lily Claborn has 23 digs.
Danville's Katie Beth Hill had 35 assists and nine digs. East Lawrence's Averie Hargett hauled in 12 kills. Danville's Maci Brannon had eight kills, 10 digs, and two aces.
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