ELIZABETHTOWN – St. Pauls fought off a pair of match-tying set points in the 4th set to pull out a 3-1 Three Rivers Conference volleyball victory by set scores of 25-23, 25-15, 17-25 and 27-25 on Senior Night Thursday.
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Sophomore AnnaGrey Heustess drilled in an ace and a service point as the Lady Eagles rallied from a 15-11 deficit in the decisive set. A diving dig by Heustess resulted in a side-out, and senior Cheylee Mathis slammed in an ace and 2 more service points as East forged ahead 20-18.
St. Pauls vaulted back in front 21-20, but service points from senior Kayleigh Raynor and sophomore Emma Turbeville plus a back-row winner from Mathis gave the Lady Eagles a 24-22 lead. However a 5-1 Lady Bulldog run ended the match.
“I was so proud of the way the girls played tonight,” said East Bladen Coach Jordan Raynor. “They came back and fought hard after they fell behind 2-0.”
Mathis hammered in 12 kills, 4 aces and 7 other service points to lead the Lady Eagles. Raynor slammed in 4 kills and 8 service points that included 3 aces. Junior Alexus Mitchell fired in 8 service points and 2 kills.
Senior Katie Evans knocked in 6 service points. Heustess smacked in 5 service points that included an ace. Senior Sara Gargala swatted in 2 kills, 2 service points and a block. Sophomore Acee Campbell racked up a block, a kill, an ace and another service point. Turbeville added a service point.
Raynor sparked East to an early 8-3 lead in the opening set with 2 kills, 2 aces and another service point. Gargala tipped in a winner, and Campbell captured a pair of service points as the lead grew to 11-6.
A 7-1 run put the visitors on top 13-12 and the teams traded points for the remainder of the set. A Gargala block knotted the score 20-20, and Gargala captured a pair of service points as Mathis pounded in a kill to tie the game again 23-23. St. Pauls took the next 2 points and the set.
St. Pauls raced to an early 11-3 lead in the 2nd set and maintained leads of 17-9 and 22-14 en route to a 2-0 lead in sets.
A trio of Heustess service points rallied the Lady Eagles from an early 8-5 deficit in Set 3. Mitchell pushed across a winner for a 9-8 East lead. A Mathis kill won the serve for Mitchell who reeled off 6 straight service points to grow a 16-10 lead.
A trio of service points by Evans kept the East lead at 20-12. Mathis delivered an ace and a service point, before Raynor served out the set at 25-17.
Lady Eagle seniors Kayleigh Raynor, Cheylee Mathis, Katie Evans and Sara Gargala were honored in ceremonies before the varsity match.
The Lady Eagles, now 2-4 in TRC play and 4-5 overall, will travel to East Columbus Friday for a 4:30 match. St. Pauls remains unbeaten in league play at 5-0 (7-2 overall) and will visit West Bladen Friday.
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