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NEW YORK STATE VOLLEYBALL: OWEGO STUMBLES IN POOL PLAY OPENER (5 PHOTOS) (2018-11-17)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - Owego will have to travel the long road back if it hopes to defend its Class B title at the 2018 NYSPHSAA Girls Volleyball Championships. The Indians dropped both sets against Section III powerhouse Westhill to open pool play action at Cool Insuring Arena here Saturday morning.

The Warriors gave Owego a battle, winning the first game 25-18, then rallying for a 25-20 victory in the second.

"I thought we played them tough at times and then other times we totally disappeared," said Owego head coach Brittney Race. "Unfortunately, that's been the story of our season, so hopefully we can pull it back together here, because now we've got to win the next four straight."

The opening set was a back-and-forth duel early with Owego grabbing 7-5 and 10-8 leads. Westhill's 4-point run made it 12-10, but the Indians would surge ahead, 14-13, after Warrior hitters sent two consecutive balls past the end line.

With the score knotted at 14, a long hit by Owego, followed by a pair of nice plays from the Warriors, a block and a kill, pushed the Westhill lead to 17-14. That prompted a time out for the Indians, but the Warriors continued to forge ahead, scoring six of the next eight points to grab a 23-16 advantage. Owego would pick up a pair of hideouts, but was unable to create a comeback.

In the second game, the Indians broke a 5-5 tie with a pair of 4-0 runs to go up 13-8. Westhill cut the lead to 13-12, but Ruby Coleman and Grace Thomas found holes in the defense for side outs and 14-12 and 15-13 leads, respectively.

An exchange of errors left the Indians ahead, 16-14, and that's when Whitehall rallied. The Warriors scored seven straight points for a 21-16 advantage. Owego would fight back, closing the gap to 22-20 with three straight points, but Whitehall ended strong.

"Again, it goes back to our errors," Race said. "We made errors at the wrong time and, unfortunately, that's going to hurt us. If we can't clean that up now we're going to be in trouble the rest of the morning."

Kaylee Kelly had four kills and four digs for Owego, Thomas dished out 15 assists, Ruby Coleman had four kills and one block, Evee Coleman added four kills, Sara Zepkowski chipped in with a block and Mackenzie Struble added five digs.

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IN PHOTO: Owego's Annika Kinney. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.


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