After dropping set one, the Miller Cardinals volleyball team stormed back to win an epic match in Lockwood’s hostile gym to remain unbeaten on Tuesday. Miller took the match 20-25, 25-23, 25-20.
“They didn’t give up,” said Miller coach Tamara Landers. “They really decided they weren’t going to lose.”
The Tigers of Lockwood threatened to hand Miller their first loss of the season after winning the first set 25-20. Lockwood fell behind 6-1 early on, but they stuck around and actually scored seven straight points at the end to take the set.
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Set two looked like it might turn out the same way with Lockwood up 21-18. Miller scored seven of the next nine points. A big block from junior stud Tori Collins secured the second set for Miller 25-23.
(Collins, No. 12 in red, goes up for a block)
“After that second set, I told [Collins], I said, ‘You made me super proud by the way you stepped up and took care of that game,’” said Landers. “I said, ‘Make me prouder the next set.’ She said, ‘You got it coach.’”
Collins was the emotional leader for the Cardinals, leading the way with 12 kills and five blocks in the match. Dalyn Hadlock had a whopping 35 assists, Lynna Hadlock had 20 digs and sophomore Bethany Gulick added nine kills for Miller.
Both teams competed and fought hard in the third and final set. There were six lead changes and the score was tied eleven times, including a 19-19 tie with the match on the line. From that point, Miller went on a 6-1 run to win 25-20.
“Miller and Lockwood in volleyball is always competitive,” said Lockwood coach Jamie Roschevitz. “Both sides want to win and I think that helped play into it a lot because both sides are going to fight till the end.”
(Jamie Roschevitz and her team look on during game action)
Coach Roschevitz believes her team is close to getting over that proverbial hump.
“[Before the game] I said that it was going to be a good match and we just had to be ready for anything. We’ve had a lot of three-game matches where they’re all really close and we’re just not quite over the hill yet. But we’re just so close, and I knew it was going to be another night like that.”
Lockwood is now 3-3 on the season, while Miller improves to 9-0-1. They’ll get back to action on Thursday when they travel to Marionville. The Comets will look for revenge after falling to Miller in the Verona Tournament championship match on Aug. 27.
“I’m very proud of my girls,” said Lander. “I’m glad they came together. It’s hot in this gym. They were about to die, but in the end they came together as a team and they met their goal.”
