WEST SUNBURY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — As the ball hit the floor for the final point of an epic five-set match that saw momentum shift wildly back and forth, members of the Moniteau volleyball team leapt into the air and screamed in joy.
The student section, in full throat all game, rushed them and joined in the celebration.
The marathon win was something of vindication for the Warriors, a young team that has been steadily improving throughout the season. They just didn’t have the victories to show for it.
Until now.
They got one on Thursday night. A hard-fought one over rival Karns City. A well-needed one in a wild 25-14, 12-25, 22-25, 25-22, 20-18 triumph.
“We wanted it,” said junior Marissa Pry. “We wanted it very bad. We just kept going. We just kept fighting and battling. I think we’re putting it together.”
The fifth set was very much a war of attrition.
After Moniteau jumped out to a huge 9-3 lead, Karns City began chipping away until finally tying the decisive set at 11-11.
Neither team led again by two until the final point.
Moniteau had three chances to win it in the final set. So did Karns City.
But finally, the Warriors prevailed.
They did it, too, without senior Hannah Migliorisi, who was struck on the nose by a hard-hit kill by Karns City’s Ava Fox, and sophomore Bella Hernandez, who also had to leave the game with a medical issue.
“It was almost a game to 25,” said Moniteau coach Kaitlyn Loos. “It was really kind of like a blur. We had two big injuries there at the end and we had a freshman in there and she did really well.”
Even without those two on the floor for the final crucial points, Moniteau found a way.
“Everybody stepped up,” Loos said. “They all played the best game that they could play tonight. That’s what we need to do every game.”
Moniteau cruised to a win in the first set, then Karns City returned the favor with a comfortable win in the second set to even the match at 1-1.
That’s when things got interesting.
Karns City (4-6) claimed the third set, but it wasn’t easy.
The Gremlins led 22-14 at one point, but Moniteau closed the gap to 23-20 before Karns City finished it off.
Moniteau (2-7) won a back-and-forth fourth set to force the dramatic final game.
Fox had 14 kills, 22 digs, three aces and two blocks to lead Karns City. Rosie Carden also had a big night with nine kills and 22 assists.
Jessica Dunn added eight kills and four aces and Natalie Hess had six kills.
Despite the loss, Karns City coach Sharon Schmoll was pleased with how her team performed.
“It was a great match. It was exciting,” she said. “You can tell Moniteau has put a lot of hard work in. They played great. But i’m proud of my girls. They did a great job, too. They didn’t even let up and they came back in that fifth game. I’m proud of them for not giving up.”
Moniteau has shown signs of this coming recently.
The first time the two teams squared off at the end of August, the Gremlins earned the sweep.
The Warriors, though, took Clarion-Limestone to five sets on Tuesday before ultimately falling.
This time, they found a way to pull it out.
Marissa Pry had six kills, two aces and two blocks. Abbey Jewart had 12 assists and a pair of aces and Lily Staab, the freshman who saw significant time in the later sets, came up with five digs and two big aces.
Loos is eager to see if a win like this is a sign of things to come.
“I sure hope so. I really hope so,” Loos said. “We’ve been struggling to find consistency. We’ve had amazing practices and then we show up and we can’t do anything. And then we have games like tonight where we just dominate for stretches and the next set, we fall apart. We’re getting there.
“This was a big one for us,” Loos added. “Beating Karns City is icing on the cake. We have a stretch of home games coming up and our student section really helps us out. I’m hoping we can build on this.”
