Tigers, ND emerge as volleyball rivals
Notre Dame (Green Pond) and Northwestern (3-1 Colonial, 3-3 overall) are becoming something of a volleyball rivalry. The two teams had to battle back and forth in their first of two regular season meetings last week and in the end, it was the Lady Crusaders (3-1, 3-1) who were able to put the match in the win column, taking three of the four sets.
The opening set was a prelude to what was to come for much of the night as neither team took an early advantage and just when it looked like one team or another would gain momentum, the other knocked them back down.
When Northwestern broke serve to cut the Crusaders’ lead to 12-9, Mckinleigh Osbourne went to work on serves and her team helped to first tie the game before powering ahead to take a 14-12 edge.
A key play came on a kill from Norah Silfies that cut the lead to 12-11. The Lady Tigers never looked back from there as Bailey Murray added two key kills and then late in the set added another kill and a block as Northwestern won the opening set 25-17.
The second set also went back-and-forth before Northwestern tied the set at 5-5. Silfies took over on service and Murray was on fire, collecting three kills as the Tigers ran up an 11-5 lead before Notre Dame was able to get serve back.
Northwestern held the lead but the Crusaders quietly chipped away until a kill from Carly Campbell made it 24-23 in favor of Notre Dame. Abby Calon took over on serves and Campbell took over control of the play at the net, adding two more kills as Notre Dame responded to the first set loss with a come-from-behind win in the second set by a 26-24 score.
Shaking off the late loss in the second set, Northwestern gained an early advantage in the third set before a kill by Nicola Murabet brought Notre Dame within two at 11-9. By the time Northwestern broke serve, the Crusaders had gone up 13-11 and would stay in front until Northwestern tied the game at 23 and went ahead on a serve by Silfies.
Again, Notre Dame responded and tied the game at 24 only to have to come back again to tie the game at 25 on a kill from Campbell. Murabet was able to serve the final two points to lock up a 27-25 win in the set and a 2-1 edge in sets for Notre Dame.
“We were a little flat in that third set, but we got the lead back and were point for point with them at the end of the set,” pointed out coach Mike Maston about his team’s play.
After a short-lived lead by Northwestern in the fourth set, Murabet again worked her magic on serves and dropped in three aces and got a key block to put Notre Dame up 10-4. Northwestern had run out of gas though and Notre Dame was able to pick up four more aces to eventually win the set 25-13 and take the match 3-1.
“I think we had just run out of gas in that fourth set,” said Maston. “We had played a lot of volleyball against a very good team and at that point we were just tired and it started to show.”
Kylie Nagle finished the night with 48 digs and two kills for Northwestern, while Murray had 23 kills and 12 digs. Shannon Green had 45 assists in the loss.
“I could not ask more from the girls tonight. We came off a tough loss last night and they came out on fire tonight and took them in the first set,” said Maston. “We were in control and Bailey Murray had a big night, as did our setter (Green). We played a lot of volleyball tonight, so I could not ask for more.”
Northwestern came into the game having lost to Panther Valley (3-0 Schuylkill, 5-0 overall) in three sets the night before. Monday night, Northwestern beat Saucon valley (2-2, 2-2) 3-1 with Nagle picking up 32 digs, Green had 34 assists and Silfies collected 11 kills.