Hubbard can’t fend off South Range in battle atop NE8
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HUBBARD -- For five long, arduous sets, Hubbard seemingly had South Range on its heels.
But when they needed it most, the Raiders dug deep, rallying multiple times throughout Thursday's match to pull out a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Eagles to remain unbeaten to start the season.
"You get to a fifth set like that, or at the end of some of those close sets, conditioning is a big part of it," South Range head coach T.J. Irons said. "And our girls really felt like towards the middle of that fourth set, there were a couple plays we thought we might have been wearing them down a little.
"We just talked to our girls about being consistent and keeping the pressure on, and hopefully, at some point their team will break. Now, they didn't break. You saw that went down to the very last point. But I think what got us through was just the preparation and hard work of the girls."
The Raiders, who came into the match having not dropped a set all season, improved to 9-0 and seized an early edge in the Northeast 8 Conference (NE8) race. Meanwhile, Hubbard fell to 7-2, but the Eagles still have a return trip to South Range later this season on Oct. 6.
"I thought it was going to be an uphill battle against them. My team responded very well," Hubbard head coach Greg Powell said. "[South Range] is a great team. They're loaded. I just told my team, 'Hey, it's okay to get beat in a situation like that. Hold your heads up high.' They didn't quit, and they fought through everything.
"We just have to refocus. Every game matters when you chase a conference title. I tell them, there's only so much court time. So when we are at practice, you have to play like you practice."
In the opening set, Hubbard eked out an early 12-8 lead after the two teams had exchanged the first few points of the set. But the Raiders rallied to tie it up 13-all.
South Range hung around, but the Eagles took advantage of some unforced errors to pull out the set 25-21 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Needing to pull one back, the Raiders jumped out ahead to start the second set, riding a 6-point run for a 10-6 lead. With the set tied 17-17 after some tough points by the Eagles, South Range took control at the end to close out the set 25-21 and level the match at one-set all.
Hubbard largely kept the Raiders at arm's length in the third set. The Eagles managed an 8-3 early lead and maintained it at 16-9 with some clutch digs by Layla Songer to hold off South Range's hitters.
Despite a late rally by the Raiders, Hubbard pulled out the third set 25-21 and took a 2-1 lead in the match.
"Anna Toy crushed a couple, and Layla dug them," Powell said. "That just added fuel to the fire if you can get something up like that, being athletic out there, digging a ball, trying not to make mistakes and communicating. They did a great job, I thought."
Just like it did in the second set, though, South Range dug deep again in the fourth set. The Raiders jumped out ahead and closed out the set 25-17 on a kill by Toy to force a deciding fifth set.
The final set featured eight ties. Hubbard turned up the aggressiveness at the net and went ahead 7-3, but South Range still had one last rally left in it.
After tying the set at 7-all, the Raiders went on the attack. It wasn't easy, as the two teams went back-and-forth. But a kill by Toy gave South Range an edge at 14-13, and the Raiders finished off the comeback win on the next point.
"Honestly, I felt like there was a point in time where the girls just decided that they weren't going to let the ball hit the floor and they were flying all over the place," Irons said. "We had some really long rallies, and I felt like they just decided that they weren't going to lose."