Lady Lions claw way to victory in last home match
GRAVETTE — It was the way any high school senior athlete wishes to go out during the final home appearance of her high school career. For eight Lady Lion senior volleyball players, the dream of winning the last home game before family and friends came true with a big win over the Prairie Grove Lady Tigers Tuesday night.
Prior to the varsity match at the Gravette High School gym, the seniors were recognized for their commitment to the Lady Lion volleyball program. As each player and team manager Lexi Bass were escorted to center court by family or friends, Head Coach Britney Davis presented each with mementos of their time on the team. Amy Metheny, the assistant coach, gave each a red rose.
The senior players included Payton Hammers, Lexi Heaton, Madison McDaniel, Lexi Gerner, Olivia Perry, Hannah Harris, Alex Sumrall and Julia Matteson. There was little time for photographs as the official called for the traditional coin toss. Fifteen minutes later, the game was on.
The Lady Lions jumped out to a great start in set one, moving ahead of the Lady Tigers by as much as seven. It looked as though Gravette was going to make easy work of the set, but then the Lady Lions suddenly went cold, allowing the Lady Tigers to scratch its way to a 15-15 tie. The two teams bantered back and forth with the lead until it was tied again, this time at 22 all. Gravette moved to set point (24) when Prairie Grove closed the Gravette lead at 24-23. But the Lady Lions managed to put the set away with a single point for the first set victory. The fans from both sides of the court got back into the contest when the two teams clawed their way throughout the early going of set two, with the Lady Tigers gaining a slight edge over the Lady Lions by two. Prairie Grove’s advantage was short-lived as the Lady Lions served up three straight points to take the lead. The lead jumped back and forth for the remainder of the set until Gravette gained control of the set to lead 21-19.
Two straight points by the Lady Tigers tied the contest at 21 all. Prairie Grove jumped ahead by two at set point but the Lady Lions tied the set at 24 each. The rules state that a team must win by two points. At this point, it was either team’s set. Finally,
Gravette managed to take the set, 26-24, leading the match by two sets.
The Gravette Lady Lions gained control of the third and final set and never looked back as the team overpowered the Prairie Grove Lady Tigers, 25-15, to win the conference match by three straight sets.
The Lady Lions traveled to Pea Ridge Thursday to take on the Lady Blackhawks in their final regular-season match before the 4A Northwest district tournament Oct. 19. Gravette put up a strong fight, winning the first set 25-20. But the Lady Blackhawks maintained their focus, taking the next three sets 25-23, 25-15, 25-11, for the final regular-season conference match of 2019.