The Long County Lady Blue Tide volleyball team entered into Monday’s home matches against next-county rival Wayne County and Bryan County having lost five straight games. They needed to turn things around and did so in a big way.
Both matches with the Redskins and Yellow Jackets went to three sets, but the Lady Tide grabbed wins in both matches to re-energize their team down the stretch.
In the first set of their match against the Lady Redskins, the Tide fell behind 6-3 early on, only getting points off three missed serves by Bryan County.
However, the Lady Tide outscored the Lady Redskins 7-1 to take a 10-7 lead. That run consisted of two service aces by Sofia Caldelas and big kills from Caldelas and Rozlynn Onnen.
A Caldelas kill, her third, tied the set 19-19.
The Redskins then scored three straight thanks to a missed serve and two aces to take a 22-19 lead. This was just enough for the Redskins to hold on for a 25-22 victory in the first set.
The Tide found themselves in a hole early in the second set, falling behind 9-3. They then went on a 6-1 run, capped off by a Trinity Mook ace.
The Redskins stretched out to a 13-9 lead once again before the Tide tied it up 13-13 with two kills by Onnen and a Janely Scott ace.
It was again a back-and-forth finish in the set with the Redskins seemingly having the victory in hand with a match point chance up 24-23.
However, the Lady Tide got a Caldelas kill and then an Onnen kill to take a 25-24 lead. Maliah Canete’s dig kept them in the next serve but could not prevent another point by the Redskins, tying the game again at 25.
An ace gave the Redskins the advantage once again, but a missed serve tied it back up for the Tide. Aliana Morales got an ace before Shelby Hoard got the game-winning kill to give the Tide the 28-26 set victory and force a third set.
It was the Tide who finally jumped out to an early lead in the set, going up 5-1 behind another Onnen kill and two aces by Kerry Ann Carrillo.
The Redskins used three aces in a row to take a 7-6 lead and the set was back to its old ways as it went back and forth once again.
The Redskins took an 11-9 lead before Caldelas got a kill to pull the game back into a tie. Another Onnen kill tied the set at 12 before the Tide won three of the last four serves to win the set 15-13 and the match 2-1.
After Wayne County’s 2-0 win over Bryan County, the Tide took the court knowing that a win over the Yellow Jackets would help their chances to make the playoffs exponentially.
Things looked good for the Tide at first as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead on Onnen, Scott and Hoard kills and freshman Valerie Navarette’s ace.
The Yellow Jackets tried to claw back into the game but never tied up the set as the Tide went on an 8-0 run made the score 22-10, eventually winning 25-14.
The Yellow Jackets jumped on the Tide in the second set as they took an 11-3 lead early on. The Tide worked back into the set to make the score 11-8, but could never tie things up again.
The Jackets went on to a 25-15 victory to force a third set.
The Tide led 7-1 after kills by Hoard and Scott and two Navarette aces.
Caldelas got a kill and Mook hit two straight aces to make the score 11-5. Two aces and a kill by the Jackets made it a one-point game once again.
However, the Tide held on and got another Onnen kill to make the score 14-12 with Carrillo serving on the potential match point. Her serve was not returned as the Tide won the set 15-12 and the match 2-1.
The Tide broke their five-game losing streak and, more importantly, get back over .500.
“I think this is actually a sort of turning point for us,” head coach Tyleeah Maddox said. “We faced a lot of things going into this season. We’ve lost players, had injuries back to back and I think this game was a game to let the girls know that they can go above and beyond. We’ve had to fight because we were down and came back up…I’m super proud that they are facing everything we have been going through. It has been an emotionally tough season and I am looking forward to this next chapter.”
The Lady Tide are now 14-13 on the year and will look to get another key region win today when they host Beach in a match that was rescheduled after a power outage at the school last month. That game will be senior night.