Nitros rally in five-game thriller
SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — One point away from defeat, the Glendale High girls’ volleyball team looked for a much-needed break to get back on track.
The Nitros received it in the nick of time before rallying for a stunning 25-21, 16-25, 22-25, 26-24, 15-7 nonleague home victory against Schurr on Thursday afternoon.
Schurr (1-2) held a 24-23 lead in the fourth game and appeared to be in control before it recorded a serving error to make it 24-24. Glendale (2-2) then tallied the next two points, capped by a kill by Kirsten Cabarong to force a fifth game, which it won rather easily.
“It was very nerve-wracking in the fourth game,” said Glendale Coach Jennifer Vo, who got a team-high 19 kills from middle blocker Grace Tappin and 13 from opposite hitter Serena Snaer. “I hate close games because they just make me that much more nervous.
“They missed that serve and we took advantage of it. We kept our serves in during the fifth game and it was an incredible win. Grace was almost unstoppable and Kirsten got some good opportunities where she put the points away.”
Glendale trailed once in the fifth game, 1-0, before going on a 10-3 run. The Nitros never looked back and received three kills from Cabarong and two from Tappin in the final game.
Cabarong, a middle blocker/outside hitter, said the Nitros regrouped well entering the fifth game.
“I think the serving error by them in the fourth game lifted our energy up,” said Cabarong, who collected nine kills. “You could see our attitude becoming more positive with each point in the firth game.
“I got to go more in the middle in the last game and get some big kills. It’s just a great win.”
Tappin concurred with Cabarong.
“We needed something to help us turn things around,” said Tappin, whose team had earlier overcome a 23-18 deficit in the fourth game. “We stayed in there and adjusted well.
“We had a lot of players do different things well, and our passing was much better in the last game.”
The Nitros led throughout the first game. They took a 20-13 lead on a kill by Tappin.
Schurr bounced back in the second game, taking a 6-0 lead. Glendale pulled to within 12-11 on a kill by Tappin.
Glendale built a 9-6 advantage in the third game, but Schurr went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-9 lead. Schurr then held a 24-20 lead before Glendale trimmed the deficit to 24-22 on a kill by Snaer.
