North Duplin’s Reece Outlaw, left, and Eva Quintanilla, right, wait for Spring Creek to serve the ball during opening-set play Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Sarah Hess, left, battles against North Duplin’s Meghan Martin at the net while Reece Outlaw (5) covers the possible block attempt Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin sophomore setter Lilly Fulghum dishes out one of her 25 assists during a come-from-behind, five-set win over Spring Creek Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Addy Higginbotham (2) and Meghan Martin (1) team up together on a back-row pass during third-set play against Spring Creek on Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s players celebrate winning a point during the first set against North Duplin on Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s tandem of Heather Alexander (hidden) and Addison Cobb put up a double block against North Duplin outside hitter Reece Outlaw on Tuesday afternoon. Outlaw led the Rebels with 14 kills and posted a .519 hitting percentage in the five-set battle at “The Swamp.” (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek senior Emily Williams, middle, sets the ball as teammates Sarah Hess, left, and outside hitter Addison Cobb look on during opening-set play against North Duplin on Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
SEVEN SPRINGS — Spring Creek rallied with late-set surges early and appeared poised to sweep former Carolina 1A volleyball rival North Duplin on Tuesday afternoon.
The Rebels bounced back, however.
A dominant third-set effort, bolstered by a lineup change, sparked the Rebels. The momentum served as the springboard to a 20-25, 19-25, 25-10, 25-20, 15-12 comeback victory.
“Spring Creek is very much improved,” ND head coach Heather Best said. “We’ve got some struggles of our own, but I think we ironed them out. I’m extremely proud, they fought back and didn’t quit which is really hard when you’re down 2-0.”
Spring Creek (2-2 overall) started strong.
Middle blocker Heather Alexander, a 6-foot-1 junior, established her presence at the net during the first two sets. Backed by a solid back line that delivered consistent passes, she connected on several kills off assists from Emily Williams and collected a handful of blocks.
Tied at 19-19, Alexander delivered two kills and recorded a solo block that ignited a 6-1 run to end the opening set.
Down 5-0 in set two, Alexander helped spark a 7-0 run with three kills — one against a double block and two off overpasses from the Rebels. The teams traded sideouts before Alexander supplied three late-set kills that helped close out the second set.
“She’s definitely a presence, as you can tell,” first-year SC head coach Chad Kirby said. “She can play above the net. When’s she out, we have to have somebody step up. Today, when she was out of the rotation, our front row didn’t step up. We scrambled.”
Best’s slight, but effective change proved pivotal.
North Duplin (1-1) took Alexander out of the equation and dominated the third set. The Rebels began to transition well from defense to offense and capitalized on free balls sent over the net.
The Gators quickly fell behind by double digits and never recovered.
Serving errors and unforced miscues on communication surfaced in the fourth set. Neither team could build more than a three-point lead and found themselves deadlocked at 19-19 on Addison Cobb’s kill off Williams assist.
Addy Higginbotham and middle hitter Eva Quintanilla combined for three kills – all off assists from sophomore setter Lilly Fulghum. That led to a set-ending 6-1 run and tied the best-of-match at 2-2.
“Lack of effort, energy…got complacent,” Kirby said. “We won’t filling the holes [defensively]. When they changed the rotation, I told the girls we have to figure out something. We didn’t make the right adjustments.
“We made a run, but it was a little too late in that fourth set. The fifth set, we just started out flat and never gained any momentum. They had the momentum from winning the third and fourth set.”
Spring Creek notched the first point.
The Rebels answered with a 5-0 run stopped by an overpass kill from Alexander. The Gators climbed to within 6-4 and stayed close, but couldn’t shut down ND senior Reece Outlaw.
Outlaw notched three of her team-high 14 kills as the Rebels eventually sealed their seventh straight win the series.
“The third set was a big turning point,” Best said. “It got down to we have to win this or go home. We regrouped and started playing the game like we know how to play.
“Let’s not tuck our tails right now, let’s fight, let’s dig.”
Quintanilla and Higginbotham pounded out nine and seven kills, respectively. The Rebels finished with 33 kills, 19 service aces and 16 digs as a team.
Fulghum doled out 25 assists.
North Duplin continues a three-game road swing today at Lejeune, while Spring Creek travels to Clinton on Thursday.
