By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
ATHENS — A revitalized Athens won its fourth match in a row here Monday night, sweeping crosstown rival Sayre in NTL volleyball action.
The Wildcats rallied from late deficits in each of the first two sets to win by scores of 25-18 and 26-24. They closed out their "Pink Out" match with a 25-16 win in the third set.
After a 1-8 start to the season, Athens has won six of its last eight contests.
"I'm really proud of how the girls are playing," said Athens coach Heather Darrow. "They've decided they're not ready to be done. They want to make a point, they don't like losing.
"They take losing hard, and they come to practice and work harder the next time, and I love that as a coach.
"It hurts watching them go through these growing pains, but the intensity I see on the court, especially in our games, shows me these girls want it, and they're going to work hard to get it," added Darrow.
Both coaches knew how big those first two sets were.
"Those were two big wins there," said Darrow. "We've been there before, we've had a lot of practice coming back like that lately. They've done it before, so I think they were confident they could do it again.
"I have (assistant coach) Tom Shay on the bench telling me, 'they're freshmen, sophomores and juniors' so it's a recipe for a bit of a roller-coaster ride," added Darrow.
"We came out strong in both of the first two sets," said Sayre coach Colby Sangrey. "Right now, we're working on being able to finish, and keeping up the entirety of the set."
The Redskins were also playing without a pair of injured starters — junior Alex Schack and freshman Lilliana Schack, who were both in walking boots.
"It's always tough when you don't have a lot of numbers, and we definitely miss them, but the girls we have in their place steeped up big time to fill in," said Sangrey.
Sayre maintained a slim margin throughout the first set until sophomore Kendall Galasso served up two straight points to give the Wildcats an 18-17 lead.
After back-to-back side-out gave Athens the serve back with a 19-18 lead, junior Hannah Parrish served up six straight points, with sophomore Ellie Mosher registering a pair of kills in the run.
Service runs by sophomore Reghan McGaughey and junior Yhale Doon early in the second set helped Sayre to a 12-5 lead.
Athens chipped away at the lead, and pulled within one, at 16-15 on four service points by Lainey Vosburgh, which featured an ace and a kill by Mosher.
Moments later, junior Meg Wiles scored on consecutive serves to give the Wildcats a 20-18 lead.
McGaughey tied the game at 21-21 with a kill, and tied the game again at 24-24 with a kill, but a side-out by Sayre and a service point by Vosburgh gave the Wildcats the 26-24 win.
Galasso had a big service spree early in the game to put Athens up 11-7, but Sayre junior Azalea McClenny registered a kill to stop the run.
Parrish had three straight service points, one punctuated by a kill from senior Regan McDaniel, to give the Wildcats a 15-8 lead.
Sayre closed the gap to 15-11, but three straight points by Vosburgh, one on a kill by Wiles, and another on a kill by Mosher, gave the Wildcats a 19-11 lead.
Moments later, freshman Kayla Forbes had three straight points, the last an ace, to put the Wildcats up 23-13.
McGaughey served up three straight points, the last an ace, to close the gap to 23-16, but a side-out and an ace by Wiles gave Athens the 25-16 win.
Mosher registered 18 kills, 12 digs, and two aces to lead Athens, while Wiles had three aces, four kills, 22 setter assists, and seven digs, Parrish had three aces and 14 digs, and Forbes had four aces, 31 digs, and 16 serve-receptions.
Darrow sang the praises of Mosher after the win.
"That girl is only a sophomore," said Darrow with a smile. "The team voted her as one of the captains ... her play speaks for her.
"It's incredible, she doesn't accept good. She's always pushing for better.
"I love her attitude because she's never satisfied. She's always hungry for more, and no one works like that girl. She is always working," Darrow added.
Darrow was also bullish on Wiles.
"Meg has been such a great leader, and I'm so proud of her," she said.
"She has stepped up her attitude this year, and she's told her teammates, 'c'mon, we got this.' She's such a fighter," added Darrow.
Vosburgh had two aces, 16 digs, and five serve-receptions in the win, while Galasso had four digs and four kills, junior Emma Mallare added two kills, and McDaniel recorded five digs.
"Overall, I'm just so impressed with this group of girls."
(SAYRE STATS WILL BE ADDED WHEN RECEIVED.)
Athens, now 7-10, closes out the regular season Wednesday at Williamson, while Sayre, 9-8, travels to Wyalusing Wednesday for its season finale.
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens sophomore Ellie Mosher. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens junior Hannah Parrish, Kayla Forbes (6), and Ellie Mosher (7). ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
