The second game would prove to be the turning point and most crucial of the entire night. One team carried over the momentum from the late game win and the other folded in the early portion of the third game.
Cranston West hosted the Lincoln Lions on Thursday night in a girls volleyball match. Lincoln cruised to a 25-19 victory in game one, but the Falcons rallied. They won three consecutive games, taking the match 3-1 to improve to 4-8 on the season. Lincoln drops to 1-11 with the loss.
The beginning of the second game followed a similar pattern as the first. West was playing sloppy and Lincoln was capitalizing on their mistakes. The Lions jumped out to a 6-2 and 12-6 lead. West scored five consecutive points to claim the lead at 14-13.
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Late in the game, the Falcons extended their lead to 23-19 and had the opportunity to close out the game with strong serving. However, they would falter and Lincoln fought back, to take a 25-24 lead. West rebounded well, winning four out of the last five points, winning it 28-26 to tie the match at one game apiece.
The Falcons momentum carried over to the third game. They dominated in the early portion of the game, leading 3-0, 12-1, and 13-3. Falcons coach, Tom Ferri spoke about the quick start.
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"Before the third game I told them “Let’s get a jump on them because they will probably be a little down," he said.
Lincoln refused to go down without a fight, and slowly clawed their way back into the match. They cut their deficit to six, at 20-14, but eventually fell 25-16.
The teams battled back and forth throughout the fourth game. The biggest lead the entire game was only four points, and that was the final margin. The only four point lead of the game belonged to West, as they won it 25-21 to take the match three games to one. There were 11 ties in the final game, proving how close it was.
Ailis Hanley led the Falcons with 14 kills and 5 blocks. Courtney Salisbury had nine kills and Sam Wheeler notched six. The Falcons were missing two starters, and Ferri spoke about Hanley stepping up when the team needed it.
"She played her best game all year," he said, "She hit the ball harder and was focused tonight and I think that made the difference."
"Our serve-receive was good and the back row played really well," the coach added.
