Lady Lakers rally for exciting championship win

One of the many reasons why I enjoy my job here is getting paid to write about the one constant that has been involved in my entire life, sports. What better job is there for a sports fanatic such as myself, then to get paid to attend athletic events and relay back to readers what happened?

Yes there are instances where I may not mentioned someone's child's name in the article, or misspell a name or not put a photo in the paper that others may feel need be for the recognition and in turn receive some constructive criticism. I have quickly learned that every successful journalist, or really any profession, constructive criticism makes one grow in a positive way. So I appreciate all the feedback, even the negative. I kind of view my job like my golf game. I can have a terrible round, but there is always one great shot that makes me come back, and feel the same way about viewer feedback. I can get 9 out of 10 negative e-mails or comments, but that one positive comment, makes my job all the more worthwhile.

Now on with the purpose of this column. This past weekend I had the pleasure of covering the Class A volleyball sectional at White River Valley. Defending sectional champion, Shakamak, was one of the favorites to advance on to the regional. North Central and Clay City were two teams that figured to put up the biggest fight for the Lady Lakers and try to dethrone the defending champs.

The before mentioned LadyBirds and Eels met in the second semifinal of the day, with the winner earning the right to face the Lady Lakers, who advanced to the championship match with their win over Union (Dugger).

After dropping the first game, the Ladybirds rattled off the next three games, led by power-hitters, Megan Stone, Bree Higginbottom and Kristina Ladika, to advance.

After watching the Ladybirds breeze through the Lady Lakers in the first two games of the championship match, I never imagined that I would be sitting here typing up a column on this match. During those first two games, Shakamak looked as if they were a team who entered the match having lost 17 matches instead of winning 17. But as all great teams do, the Lakers flipped on the intensity switch and clawed their way back into the match.

Honestly, after losing the second game by a convincing score of 12-25, I was almost certain North Central was one game away from delivering the knockout punch to the defending champs.

The shellacking the LadyBirds served up in game two must have ignited a fire under the Lady Lakers, as they fired back with a 25-12 win in game three, and momentum had quickly switched sides. The back-to-back lopsided games, was only the beginning of what turned out to be two of the best games of high school volleyball that I have witnessed.

In game four, the two teams traded big hit after big hit, with each team not gaining more than a three-point advantage. Lady Lakers senior Jess Gilbert, who had been nursing a sore ankle throughout the first match against the Bulldogs and the first couple games against the Ladybirds, showed that North Central was not the only team that could display power hitting at the net.

Gilbert slammed down six kills in game four, with each kill either tying the contest of giving the Lady Lakers the lead. Stone and Higginbottom also displayed timely kills, as the two teams battled through six ties after both teams had reached 19 points.

The final tie came on a Stone kill, at 24 apiece, but a miss hit by the LadyBirds followed by a block by Gilbert put the final touches on the action-packed fourth game, setting up a dramatic finish.

Knowing that their next loss would be the end of a brilliant career, Gilbert decided she would strap her team to her back in the early part of the fifth and decisive game.

Gilbert registered six straight kills, as the Lakers raced out to a 8-2 lead. The lead would grow to 11-4, but after a side-out Stone would knock down two straight powerful kills of her own to bring North Central to within 7-11. A kill by Jocelyn Boyll made the Columbia Blue and White Lakers faithful nervous, as the LadyBirds closed the gap to 10-11.

Another crucial miss hit by NCHS killed the rally, and eventually the hopes for the mild upset. Holli Moore closed the door on the LadyBirds hopes for their first sectional title in over 20 years, with a kill, giving the Lady Lakers their 18th win of the season and their second consecutive sectional crown.

The only word Lakers head coach Jeri Morin could think of to describe the feeling was WOW! Her squad came back from the dead against one of the hardest hitting teams they have faced all season and pulled off the nail-biting miraculous win, although they may have been considered the favorites.

I will not go on record saying this win was the most exciting event that I have covered in my short period of time here, but I would have to ranked it as the best volleyball match I have covered this season and one of the top five events since I have been here.

Next step for the Lady Lakers will be a match with Indianapolis Lutheran in the South Decatur Regional on Saturday.

Travis David is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at tdavid@gcdailyworld.com or 812-847-4487 ext. 20