Comets outlast Haynes

Published 11:45 pm Friday, October 17, 2014

By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Maddie Murphy said she and her teammates knew they were in for a fight Thursday against district rival Haynes. The Comets were indeed ready to do just that.

SCC captured its fourth district victory after an intense four sets at home, besting the Yellow Jackets 25-13, 25-21, 21-25 and 25-17.

It was the second victory of the season over Haynes for the Comets, who won in five games in the previous meeting.

“The last time we played them, it was really neck and neck the entire time,” said Murphy, who finished with a team-high eight kills to go along with six assists. “We knew we really needed to play hard today. We really wanted to win it for the fans who came out to support us and for our school.”

Those fans were lively throughout a hotly contested faceoff, one where a win was of great importance to both teams. In a district featuring stiff competition like John Curtis, Riverside and Lusher, wins are at a premium during the season’s home stretch. The Comets were ranked No. 13 in Division IV power points entering the match, and the win keeps SCC in line to potentially host a home playoff match. The top 16 teams play host in the first round.

“We knew we had to come out strong today,” St. Charles coach Meghan Ericksen said. “I thought our girls played a very smart game and when we needed to come together to make a push, we did. We played our game today.”

Lela Hill had six kills for the Comets. Kaitlyn Lowry had six blocks. Jade Brady had four kills and three aces. Grace Mohon had 11 assists and three kills.

Haynes’ Natalie Rome finished with a match-high 20 kills and seven blocks. Fei Wittenberg served four aces and Codi Vernace made 14 digs.

The Comets captured the first set with relative ease, but the next three games all featured back-and-forth action, including the fourth and final game featuring a number of long rallies.

The teams traded points in the deciding game until Lowry landed a momentum-shifting block then served an ace that just skipped over the net, giving SCC a 14-11 lead. A Haynes return into the net gave SCC a four-point lead, the biggest for either side to that point. A Mohon kill made it 17-13.

A Valerie Jones kill for the Jackets threatened to steal the momentum back for their side, but SCC was rolling. The Comets scored the next three points. Mohon served an ace to make it 24-15. Haynes delayed the home team’s celebration for the next two points, but a return error on the third wrapped things up for SCC.

The Comets all but clinched the opening game with an 8-0 run that made it 24-11, featuring three kills by Murphy and another by Crysta Remondet.

Twice, SCC appeared to be pulling away in the second game, but Haynes kept closing the gap. A quick 4-0 Jackets run tied the game at 14, then Haynes closed a 22-17 SCC lead to 22-21 thanks to another four-point spurt sparked by a Vernace kill. SCC scored the final three points, though, with Brady serving back-to-back aces to seal things.

Two aces and a block by Wittenberg helped Haynes build a 15-10 lead in the third game. The Comets made a push and closed to within one at 22-21, but could never tie things up. Another Wittenberg ace followed by a Rome kill clinched Haynes’ lone set.

“We battled today, but we just haven’t played well enough to pull these games out,” Haynes coach Dollie Lala said.

“With Curtis and Riverside in our district, we’ve got to win the ones like today when it’s there to win. We were in the game but couldn’t finish.”

Lala noted the Comets improvement from past seasons.

“We’ve beat them each time out in the past, and they swept us this season,” Lala said. “They’ve improved so much. They’re scrappy. I look at us, and right now we’re big and slow. They’re quick to the ball and play very, very well defensively.”

ST. CHARLES DEF. ST. JAMES IN THREE — SCC took a 25-8, 25-19 and 25-7 victory over St. James Tuesday.

Lowry had seven kills, while Mohon had six kills and seven assists. Murphy added nine assists and Arceneaux had four digs.