By Pat Delaney
In a hard-fought five-set battle filled with momentum swings and standout performances, the Lady Cougars came up just short against Carroll County, falling 3-2. The match featured long rallies, and a career milestone for Camille Gonzalez, who recorded her 1,000th assist in the October 2 match.
After falling behind, 1-3, the Lady Cougars came back with a 6-0 run, and held a 13-9 lead midway through the first set. Carroll County fought back, tying the set at 14-14. From there, the Lady Cougars pulled away, closing out the set with five unanswered points for a 25-18 win.
Falling behind 3-6 early in the second set, the Lady Cougars battled back with an 8-1 run to take an 11-7 lead. They would not trail again, and would win the set, 25-17.
Carroll County stepped up its play in the third set. Trailing 3-2, the Lady Cavaliers would pull away throughout and win the set 16-25.
During the third set, Lady Cougar setter Camille Gonzalez reached a career milestone with her 1,000th assist. Play stopped to recognize her accomplishment as her coaches, teammates and fans of both teams gave her a well-earned round of applause. Gonzalez finished the night with 55 assists, 21 digs, 3 kills and 2 blocks.
For the first half of the fourth set, the teams traded points, tying at 14-14. A combination of solid play from the Lady Cavaliers and some bad breaks for the Lady Cougars allowed the visitors to take the set, 19-25, forcing a deciding fifth set.
In a match featuring many long, hard-fought points, the fifth set was close as expected. With solid play on both sides of the net, neither team could take a lead of more than a couple of points. Tied at 13-13, the Lady Cavaliers took the final two points of the set, winning the match 3-2.
On the night, Journey Moore had 20 kills, 30 digs and 5 aces. Jayden Callahan had 12 kills and 27 digs, while Sydney Tatum chipped in 10 kills and 3 blocks.
