Caleb Riordan | Ameritime Sports Writer
The South Iron Panthers took care of Summersville Thursday in a match that went all five sets.
The Panthers started strong and quickly jumped out to a two set lead. South Iron won the first set 25-16 and the second 25-19.
“The girls came out strong in the first two sets and were able to push points early,” head coach Adrainn D’Amico said. “If we lost a point or rally they were able to bounce back quickly and regain momentum.”
The Panthers started strong in the third set as well, but Summersville was able to rally and steal the set 28-26.
“In the third set we were leading 23-18 and could not finish,” D’Amico said. “Summersville found our holes and played very scrappy. They continued this type of play during the next three sets.”
Summersville won the fourth set as well to force a game-deciding fifth set. South Iron rallied and won the set to grab its sixth win of the season.
“We are a young team and still learning how to play competitive during pressure situations,” D’Amico said. “I was proud of how the girls continued to work to find ways to take care of balls to remain in the game.”
This win was a battle for the Panthers and that was not lost on them.
“I feel like one thing we did well as a team was we continued to battle for points even when things weren’t running smoothly,” Hailey Pauley said. “I feel like our scores reflected that with how close the games were.”
Madison Ayers led the team in kills with 14. Drew Gayle followed her with 11 and had 18 assists, trailing only Enzley Dinkins ,who led the team with 20. Dinkins also led the team in aces with four, while Gale had three of her own. Megan Lashley registered 35 digs and Ayers registered 32.
“This was a hard fought match between the two teams and it was point for point for a really long time,” D’Amico said. “Momentum was swinging back and forth between us. Our girls were able to settle in at the end and do the little things that allowed us to come away with a victory.”
The win pushed South Iron’s record to 6-5-1. The Panthers’ next test comes against Meadow Heights on Tuesday Sep. 22.
