Olmsted Falls rallies for volleyball win over Amherst
Steve Byrne | The Chronicle-Telegram
AMHERST — Brooke Purvis rode to the rescue.
Purvis, Olmsted Falls’ senior libero, served eight unanswered points — three of them aces — as Falls went from a 5-1 deficit to a 10-5 lead in Game 5 of Tuesday’s Southwestern Conference match against Amherst.
The rally allowed the Bulldogs to escape the embarrassment of having won the first two games, only to lose the match. Amherst (4-3, 2-1 SWC) owned the momentum until Purvis had the Comets looking disoriented for that brief but critical stretch.
The Bulldogs captured the first two games, 25-15 and 25-20, before losing games 3 and 4 by 25-23 and 25-20.
The Game 5 heroics was the only opportunity Purvis had to serve for Falls, which remained unbeaten through eight matches and improved to 3-0 in the SWC.
“I’m proud of Brooke Purvis,” Olmsted Falls coach Dawn Moses said. “She did a great job and she hadn’t served all night. It’s good to see seniors come in and do those things when you need it.”
The hitting of Christine Peffer and Lauren Whyte had a lot to do with pulling out a victory. Peffer, a 5-foot-7 middle hitter, had five kills and one block kill in Game 5. Whyte, a 6-foot outside hitter, had three of her match-leading 24 kills in the final game.
Amherst simply couldn’t generate an offense in Game 5 via the Comets’ failure to handle Purvis’ service.
“Serve receiving,” Amherst coach Laurie Cogan said. “Forget Game 1 and Game 2. We had them on the ropes in Game 5. We had a nice lead and absolutely tanked on serve receiving. That was all it came down to.”
Amherst was able to come back once it got its own offense rolling. The blocking that was almost non-existent in Game 1 came around midway through the second game. Deme Morales had 22 kills and Aleecia Sunagel added 14 kills for the Comets. Senior setter Lauren Percival was 84-of-85 with 38 assists.
“We went to a two-player attack and Deme and Aleecia did a good job,” Cogan said. “It was just that we couldn’t get them the ball in Game 5.”
Falls had little trouble in Game 1, building leads of 16-7 and 22-10 as Whyte had eight kills and Peffer and Corinne Manley had four each.
The Bulldogs opened a 13-5 advantage in the second game before Amherst rallied to get as close as 18-16. A kill by Brittany Snider finished the game and put the ‘Dogs a game away from a sweep.
Falls was ahead 9-6 in the third game before seeing its own game come undone and watching Amherst’s play turn razor-sharp. Amherst scored seven in a row and was up by 19-13.
The Bulldogs tied it at 23, but a kill by Morales and an ace by Abby Burgdorf ended matters. Morales and Sunagel had four kills each and Angie Pellittieri served three aces in Game 3.
The Comets led throughout Game 4. Falls managed to come back from 10-3 behind to trail only 16-15, but four straight points by Amherst kept the ’Dogs away.
“We came out with so much emotion and so much energy, it was like total chaos,” Cogan said. “When we gained our composure and began playing Amherst volleyball we made a match of it.”
“It’s all about execution,” Moses said. “We executed in game 1, 2 and 5 and we broke down in 3 and 4.”
Morales had three kills as the Comets built their 5-1 lead in the closing game before Falls began to dominate. A kill by Morales ended the 9-point run, but kills by Whyte and Peffer and an unforced error put Olmsted Falls ahead 13-6. Peffer had kills on the last two points, including a vicious hit that ended the match.
Peffer finished with 19 kills. Manley had nine and Snider added seven. Amherst’s Ashley Aponte led all passers with 17 digs.
Contact Steve Byrne at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniuclet.com.
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Filed by Steve Byrne | The Chronicle-Telegram September 3rd, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 7% |
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