Cardinals rally past Abington
Momentum is huge in volleyballK A team is norPDOOy HLWKHU WKH EHnHfiFLDUy or victim of it with little in betweenK
AELnJWRn WRRN WKH fiUsW WwR sHWs DnG wDs MusW fiYH points away from sweeping Upper Dublin, but the Cardinals stormed back to take the next three and the match, winning on Senior kightK Despite a great effort by the Abington front, Upper Dublin’s team play and will brought it all the way backK
“It was a very exciting game, I was at the edge of my seat the whole time,” Upper Dublin coach Meg Goettner saidK “I think they were able to stay motivated through the entire gameK We normally have a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but we really stuck with it and kept our spirits upK It was fun to watchK”
7KH GKRsWs WRRN WKH fiUsW two sets, neither of which were easily wonK Upper Dublin appeared to be in control and was up 20-1S at one point, but Abington used a size up front and defense to come all the way back, scoring nine unanswered points and taking the set 25-20K
Upper Dublin looked the better team again in the second set, but saw the sDPH UHsuOW Ds WKH fiUsW. 7KH Ghosts did not take their fiUsW OHDG unWLO WKH sFRUH was 22-21, but the score was always closeK Another team effort up front fueled the set and Abington would not be denied, taking it 2S24K Hitter Carley Cooper and middle player Regina Seweryn had a big set for Abington, while Upper Dublin’s Berenice Leung essentially kept her team in the game with digs that kept points aliveK
Then came the momentum swing that Abington would never recover fromK
“This was a totally different Upper Dublin team than the last time we played them,” Abington coach gae Lee saidK “They were very aggressive with their serves and we couldn’t handle the placementK We had a very good offensive game, but couldn’t stop that serveK”
In the third set Abington had a 20-20 score on its side, just five points away from a sweep and a winK Upper Dublin had other plans, though, storming back to win the set 2S-24K ko one player, but the whole team contributed to the comeback, allowing the Cardinals to stay alive at least for one more setK
“I never saw panic mode,” Goettner saidK “I kind of told them it was a now or never situation, the rest of the night depended on winning that setK It was our Senior kight, they really wanted it more than everK I couldn’t be more proudK”
Unfortunately for Abington, two more disappointing sets were in its futureK Upper Dublin crushed the Ghosts in the fourth set, 25-13K It seemed that the comeback not only extended the game, but supplied WKH CDUGLnDOs wLWK FRnfidence and it shined through in the third and game-tying sHW. ,W wDs Rn WR D fiIWK, GHciding setK
Given the fact that Abington had a good showing, it was not going to lay down for the home teamK The Ghosts fought hard and came close to stealing the game, but fell just short in the third setK The Cardinals completed the comeback with a 15-13 win Ln WKH finDO sHW, sKRwLnJ UHsolve and never folding to pressureK
“I think a lot of the girls played really well, which is why we won” Goettner saidK “On the defensive side, Alyssa Rowley played really well and didn’t let anything dropK Our setter Taylor D’Ginto also did a great job setting upK It was a fun night for usK”
Although the Ghosts had some good performances both individually and as a team, the win was just not in the cardsK
“Regina Seweryn is the leader and the heart and soul of the team, she played a great game,” Lee saidK We played really well, it was just unfortunate that we could not pull out the winK”