With Monday’s match against crosstown rival Greenwood Christian on the verge of slipping away, Greenwood senior Siena Halfaker decided to take action.
The outside hitter delivered a kill and then eight straight service points at a critical point in the fourth set, helping the host Woodmen come from behind for a 25-16, 23-25, 16-25, 25-17, 15-10 triumph on senior night.
"I think we just got in our own heads and let them get to us," Halfaker said of Greenwood’s struggles during the second and third sets. "We just had to get on a run again to feel good about ourselves."
The fourth set began as a back-and-forth affair, featuring seven ties and five lead changes, before Halfaker provided the Woodmen with the charge they needed. She put down a kill to tie the score at 10-10 and then ran off eight consecutive service points, including a pair of aces, to help Greenwood take control on the way to forcing the decisive fifth set.
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The Woodmen never trailed in that one, scoring three straight points to take the lead for good at 9-6 and holding firm from there.
The first set also belonged to the Woodmen all the way through after back-to-back kills by Jenna Armstrong gave the home side a 3-2 lead. Armstrong, Halfaker and Mya Ayro each had three kills in the set.
Ayro had six more kills in the second, helping Greenwood rally from a 16-13 deficit to storm ahead, 23-19. But the Cougars gathered themselves and responded with six consecutive points, closing out the set on the serve of Olivia Shingleton.
GCA then took a 5-0 lead in the third, also on Shingleton’s serve, and the visitors held the advantage throughout the set, fending off a mid-set surge from Greenwood and scoring 14 of the last 20 points.
Woodmen coach Natalie Kitchin believes that most of her team’s problems so far this season stem from communication and cohesiveness issues — problems that she feels stem largely from the ongoing pandemic.
"COVID is really getting to us with chemistry," Kitchin said. "A lot of communication errors, things like that tonight. Being able to push each other, hold each other accountable is really where we’re struggling right now, and a lot of has to do with not being able to do anything outside of practice and games, not being able to bond and things like that — especially with a new staff and everything."
Still, Greenwood was able to hold themselves together just well enough to survive and even its record at 1-1 going into another home match today, this one against perennial Mid-State Conference overlord Franklin.
Halfaker is hopeful that she and her teammates can build off of Monday’s marathon win.
"We’re really looking forward to that (match)," Halfaker said, "and it feels good to go into that at .500 and not completely defeated."
