In rivalry rematch, Knights start slow, finish strong
It takes ‘an unusally tired’ varsity volleyball five sets to sweep LBJ in district play
Down 2-1 but not out, the Knights on the court and on the bench leap to celebrate winning a critical point in the do-or-die fourth set.
October 8, 2019
Trailing 1-0 and 2-1 against arch-rival LBJ tonight, the varsity volleyball team rallied to win the fourth set and a fifth-set tiebreaker to edge the Jags 3-2 in an instant classic match, played before a large, loud crowd featuring a faculty section that came to cheer on the Knights on Teacher Appreciation Night and a large contingent of Jag fans who traveled with their team.
The Knights trailed in the first set 20-12 before cutting the deficit to one at 24-23, LBJ. The Jags were able to close out the set, 25-23. From there, the Knights rallied to tie the score at 1 by winning the second set, 25-18, but then lost the third set, 25-21.
“We were all kind of down on ourselves,” junior hitter Grace Werkenthin said. “We just had to get out there and play like it was the game of our lives.”
Facing defeat if they lost another set, the Knights rallied to take the fourth set, 25-22, on senior Janael Copeland’s serve and seemed poised to extend their momentum into the tiebreaker set, but the Jags won the first two points to take a 2-0 lead.
As they had all night long, the Knights started the fifth set slow, then picked up the pace, seizing control of the match to win the tiebreaker, 15-9, and the match, 3-2.
“Our energy was really low,” senior middle hitter Shaine Rozman said. “We were just unusually tired but we pushed through.”
Libero Brienna Martinez also said that renewed energy was the key to turning the match around: “I just really wanted to win, so I didn’t want to let a ball drop and wanted to leave it all out on the court.”
After winning the tiebreaker, 15-9, and the match, 3-2, the team enjoys a little post-match celebration.
The team played better in their victory at LBJ earlier in the year, but Martinez said tonight’s outcome was still special.
“It was a really great moment, and it really helped to build our team more.” With the win, the Knights’ record improves to 7-1 in district and 25-14 overall.
The Knights next face a tough road test at Lockhart on Friday.
During the pregame ceremony on Teacher Appreciation Night, senior middle hitter Shaine Rozman laughs with math teacher Scott Pass, whom she invited to the game.
Mac Spanish teachers Senora Gunn and Senior Altamirano cheer for the varsity volleyball players as they take the court, or maybe they are cheering the teacher appreciation gifts they received just before the team began warm-ups.
During a break between the fourth and fifth sets, Coach Brodbeck told the team to talk amongs themselves about strategy for the tiebreaker set. During that session, the team shows some love for junior outside hitter Preslie Boswell, whose play won the final point of the fourth set. She also had a team-high 25 kills.
![Knight ace Natalie Myrick pitched a great game in defeat, striking out 11, walking none and allowing zero earned runs and only four hits. Her teammate Lila Brotherton said she had command of all her pitches including an intimidating fastball. Natalie is an amazing pitcher and did a really good job at that game, Brotherton said. I’m not sure who is the faster pitcher [her or LASA starter Rose Harrelson], but it is definitely a close match.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Possible-Immersive-Softball-Photo-2-600x384.jpg)
Sophia Dawson • Nov 4, 2019 at 2:11 pm
I really enjoyed this piece. It was a short article but the photos that were included made the story tell itself through the photos. I liked how you included the reactions of the girls on the tough game they played against LBJ. The images that were included were very good choices. Each and every photo displays the players emotion, that makes this article write itself. Another thing that I liked was that you included the players stats. With including them it made this news story a lot more professional looking. I would of maybe included more about the team’s season leading up to the match against LBJ but just a suggestion. Anyways this news story was very good!