Knights down LCC in NWC volleyball

Van Wert independent sports

The Crestview Lady Knights absolutely rocked the house in Thursday night’s Northwest Conference match-up against the Lima Central Catholic Thunderbirds!

“It was definitely a great atmosphere to compete in and especially want to thank our Knight fans for their fantastic support,” said Crestview Coach Tammy Gregory.

After losing the first game of the match 18-25, the Lady Knights picked up the intensity and were more aggressive on every ball as they began attacking harder and were able to put up more blocks. Crestview came out and won the next two games by scores of 25-22 and 25-18.

In the fourth game of the match, the Lady Knights could not get into a rhythm and lost 22-25, but in the fifth and deciding game of the match, they did what they do best … play with a lot of heart and determination to leave everything they have out on the court.

Crestview trailed in this game and were forced to call timeouts with scores of 6-10 and 8-12.  With the match on the line, Coach Gregory said she and the team talked a lot during the final timeout about how hard they had fought and how bad they wanted the chance at another league title.

To win, the coach said, her team needed to focus on one point at a time — which was just what the Knights did en route to winning the final game, 15-13.

“I was so proud of these girls and reminded once again why I love coaching them so much,” Gregory said. “They never gave up and showed so much determination. These girls support one another and give 110 percent at all times.”

Defensively, Crestview really picked up its game in the serve receive, digging and blocking categories.

“We knew against a team as aggressive as LCC is, we really had to be on our toes ready for anything,” Coach Gregory explained. “It is great to play against teams at this level because it will prepare us for the rest of the season — and we learn so many things about ourselves as a team.”

The match will be aired on Friday at 9 p.m. on WOSN-TV 44-2. With the win, Crestview is now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the NWC. The Lady Knights will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Kalida to compete in a tri-match with Kalida and Antwerp.

The Crestview junior varsity team was defeated by LCC in three games. The Knight JVs are now 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the NWC.

Leading the way for the Knights were:

Serving

• Taylor Springer    25/25
• Danica Hicks        18/18
• Kirstin Hicks        16/19 with 3 aces
• Taylor Hamrick    15/16
• Holly Genth        9/11
• MeKale Clifton    8/9

Hitting

• Danica Hicks    19 kills
• Taylor Springer    9 kills
• Kirstin Hicks        8 kills
• McKenzie Nofer        5 kills
• Courtney Trigg        2 kills
• MeKale Clifton        1 kill

Setting

• Danica Hicks        72/73 with 16 assists
• Taylor Springer    59/59 with 18 assists

Digs

• Holly Genth        31 digs
• Kirstin Hicks        13 digs
• Taylor Hamrick    11 digs