Griffin Christian volleyball players react during a break in the action Monday. The Lady Crusaders won their home and season opener over Heritage, 3-1. (Jeff Armstrong/Daily News)
Griffin Christian, state qualifiers last year, starts the 2012 season with a 1-0 record.
Griffin Christian had a 2-games-to-0 lead but couldn’t get on track in Game 3 to finish the scrappy Lady Hawks (0-1). Heritage won the third game and the Lady Crusaders found the inner strength to win the entire match in four games.
The Crusaders took an early 7-2 lead in Game 1, but Heritage rebounded to take a 20-19 lead late. But a kill and an ace by Cara Grobbelaar and a nice kill shot by Leyah Brown off an assist by Madison Bertelsbeck gave GC the lead for good at 22-20 en route to the 25-21 win.
Griffin Christian dominated Game 2, rolling to an 18-8 lead before winning 25-13. The Lady Crusaders rallied from an 11-6 Heritage lead to tie Game 3 at 13-all, but Heritage went on a 12-4 run to win Game 3, 25-17.
Game 4 was a tough one for Griffin Christian. It was a nip-and-tuck battle for the entire game, but thanks to kill shots from Brittany Foster (including a shot that landed right on the line), Ruby Mathews and Grobbelaar, the Lady Crusaders took a 20-19 lead. But a slew of service errors by both teams tightened the game and GC finally won the game on a Heritage service error, 25-23.
“I’m very proud of the girls for playing hard and winning their first match of the year,” said GC coach Melanie Foster. “It shows great potential for the rest of the season.”
GC’s next match is today at Stratford at 5:30 p.m. and its next home match is Friday at 6 p.m. against region foe Sherwood.
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SKIPSTONE PREPARING FOR VOLLEYBALL OPENER: The Skipstone Academy Lady Warriors volleyball team will start its season this Saturday at the “Warrior Warm Up” at its home gym, located at Zion Baptist Church in Hampton.
Skipstone (6-1 overall last year) will compete in the one-day tournament along with Griffin Christian, Trinity Christian and Grace Christian. The Warrior Warm Up will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
“Practice is going well and the team is coming along together nicely,” said Skipstone assistant coach John Hassert. "We're looking forward to getting the season started this weekend."
Skipstone will be led by the “Core Four” in 2012 — seniors Kenzie Moody and Alyssa Hughes and sophomores Rebecca Hassert and Keeley Adkisson.
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