Faith earns sweep over stubborn Lady Comets

By Jim Holland, Journal staff | Wednesday, September 17, 2008

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RAPID CITY — Faith prevailed over Rapid City Christian in girls high school volleyball, but not before the Christian Lady Comets made the Lady Longhorns earn the three-set victory Tuesday night.

Faith improved to 3-2 on the young season with a 25-18, 25-12, 25-22 win at National American University’s Roosevelt gym.

After dropping the first two games, the Lady Comets took advantage of Faith’s serving, passing and hitting errors to jump to a 7-3 lead in game three.

Faith rallied to knot the score at nine on a momentum swing that saw the Lady Comets struggle.

From there the tally would be tied seven more times.

Faith finally stretched the lead to 23-20 on an attack by Christian’s Megan Baker that caught the net, two kills by Brittany Maier and a single kill from Shania Johnston.

Christian cut the lead to 23-22 when Maier’s serve sailed long, and a Maier attack found the net on the next point.

But that would be as close as the Lady Comets could get. A pair of successive Christian hitting errors closed out the win for the Lady Longhorns.

“It was touch-and-go, point after point,” said Faith head coach Katie Martin. 

In game one, Maier’s tip, kill and two service aces helped Faith to a 24-15 lead, but Christian staved off three-straight game points before surrendering the win.

An 8-1 run down the stretch won the first game for the Lady Longhorns.

Martin thought her team showed its strength in shrugging off errors that led to back-and-forth swings of momentum.

“It’s communication, telling them to let go of the mistake and move on to the next play,” Martin said. “They do very well to just play their game and not worry about the other side.”

Megan Baker, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter and one of just three seniors on the roster, led the Lady Comets with six kills. Christy Schultz, an eighth-grader, had five kills.

“They’re young, but they’re a team that has strengths. They have a tiger inside them,” said Lady Comet head coach Juliana Tomek. “I know the fire is growing and I know they’re getting closer to the win.”

Tomek was happy with her team battling back in the third game after being down 2-0. 

“They’re just plain stubborn. That’s the word,” she said. “It’s a good thing that volleyball can go one way or the other. It’s the momentum and whoever wants it more, gets it.”

Maier’s eight kills and three aces led Faith.

“They passed good and picked up good, a few errors here and there, but they pulled themselves back together and did a good job,” Martin said.

Faith hosts Wall Thursday night in Faith. Rapid City Christian (1-9 overall) plays in a tournament in Kadoka on Saturday.