PG girls overcome slow start
Lady Hawks recover to defeat North Lamar
It came down to the wire. Pleasant Grove outlasted North Lamar, 14-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11, in a District 14-4A volleyball match at Hawk Gym Tuesday.
In a match in which 209 total points were scored, the Lady Hawks seemed to have the upper hand in conditioning as the Pantherettes wore down.
“I am happy with our performance,” Pleasant Grove head coach Amy Collvins said. “For the team to keep the intensity and finish the fifth set against North Lamar was great. It took all of us.”
Britton Anderson put down 16 kills and had 18 digs, Macey Adams served in 11 points and had 11 kills, and Allison Michaelis slapped in 11 winners and made 25 assists for the Hawks. Madeline Haak made eight blocks, Sydney Hopkins had 20 digs, Madi Morris added 11 kills, and Kaylee Kelley made 16 assists.
Pleasant Grove got off to a slow start and was unable to string together more than two points in the first set. North Lamar, however, put together two 5-0 rallies during the set and won by 11 points.
The Hawks built a 13-7 lead in the second set and kept the gas pedal down as they later built a 17-10 lead after an Adams kill. But the Pantherettes crept back into the set to make it a 1-point affair at 24-23.
Reagan Franks and Haak combined for a block to put the match away. Morris swatted four kills in the set for PG.
Set 3 featured eight ties at 2, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 21. The Hawks had a 16-13 lead, but lost it when North Lamar rattled off three straight points to tie it. At 21-all, the Pantherettes hit a pair of kills, and Pleasant Grove had a hitting error to make it 24-21 in North Lamar’s favor.
Adams slapped a kill down the left baseline, and the Pantherettes were caught in the net to make it 24-23. But the Hawks committed an unforced error as North Lamar won the third set.
Set 4 had 13 ties at 1,2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 20, 22 and 23 all.
Adams hit a kill to give the Hawks the serve back, down 6-5. Hopkins served in three in a row to give PG an early 8-6 lead.
Later in the set, North Lamar scored four straight to take a 15-11 lead. But Anderson hit a tip that went for a winner, and Kelley served in three in a row as the Hawks tied it up at 15-all.
Morris hit a winner with her left hand to tie the set at 23-23, and Adams served the final two points as Anderson hit the set-clinching kill for Pleasant Grove.
The final set was tied at 2, 4, 5 and 6 before the Hawks took a 13-9 lead after an Adams kill down the back line. North Lamar had a hitting error, PG had a service error, but Anderson put down a kill on the next point to give the Hawks the win.
Katie Ferguson served in eight points to lead the Hawks’ junior varsity to a 25-17, 25-16 sweep over the Panthers.
Aubrey Oller had 13 service points for PG’s 9th grade, but the Hawks fell to North Lamar, 22-25, 25-16, 21-25.
Pleasant Grove (22-11, 5-1) plays at Paris in a District 14-4A clash at 4:30 p.m. Friday, varsity only.