By RYAN WALKER
MONROE — Adams Central got the best of cross-county rival Norwell in three sets in a mostly competitive match Monday night.
The No. 9 in 2A Jets (16-9), who won the ACAC tournament two days prior, were up for the task against a growing Knights (14-8) program in 3A. The first two sets were neck-and-neck, featuring two Norwell comebacks. But when the chips were down, Adams Central prevailed during crunch time.
In the first set, the Knights were down 19-13 before a 6-0 run made it a game before falling 25-23.
In the second set, the Jets had a small advantage throughout, but the Knights hung around and went up 23-22 to take their first late lead.
When it mattered most, Adams Central crawled back to steal the lead and eventually scored twice in a row to win 27-25.
“I think (Adams Central) was a little bit better putting the ball down sooner than we did,” Norwell head coach Kayla Hunter said when asked what the Jets did to steal the first two sets. “In some of the long rallies, it was usually them that were kind of ending it on a block. We just kind of gave them easier balls, and they were a little bit more aggressive.”
Considering the competitiveness of the game at that point, the third set was a surprise for Norwell.
Hunter needed a quick timeout after her team looked up at a 7-0 thumping by Adams Central. The lead would grow to 12-0 before scoring the first point. The final score ended up at 25-11 with a much different feel than the first two sets.
“Overall, they played some pretty good volleyball,” Hunter said. “The first two sets were fun, and that just kind of makes the third set all the more exciting. I told them we could have found ourselves down 12-0, and we very much could have been winning a fifth set — it’s just a very, very weird spot to be in.”
Norwell caught a red-hot Adams Central team that won four games in a row on Saturday to win its conference championship, including a two-game sweep over South Adams (22-3) in the title match.
Facing a ranked opponent at their house, competing for two sets, and dropping the third the way the Knights did provided a no-harm experience out of conference.
Hunter said she thought her team might have played a little nervous but learned how they can play with anybody.
“I think, in general, they’re pretty good fighters, but I think we still kind of saw that there’s some more to grow there,” Hunter said. “I don’t know if they got intimidated at all, maybe, but just to know that they have a dog in the fight every single game and to have some confidence there.”
Norwell will turn around for its next big test on the road Tuesday against No. 1 in 3A Bellmont. The Braves are 21-2 on the season.
The match will start at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Stat leaders for the Knights were Vanessa Rosswurm and Rebecca Settle with six kills, Macie Saalfrank with two aces, Settle with 19 digs, Marlee Wenger with 15 assists, and Rosswurm with two blocks.
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