Photo by Jack Blessington
By Theo Severud
Sports Reporter
The Newton South girls’ volleyball team fell to top-seeded Newton North in three sets on Tuesday, eliminating them from the state tournament in the second round.
South kept pace with North for much of the first set, tying the score at 9-9. They couldn’t keep up with the Tigers’ after that point, eventually losing the set 15-25.
During the second set, South never found their usual rhythm and North took advantage of their struggles. The Lions were able to take over and end the set quickly, taking the set 10-25 and going up 2-0 in the match.
Captain Catherine Patti commented on the factors that contributed to the loss.
“I’d say mostly serving and setting, combined with North’s strong performance,” she said.
In the third set, South went down early again, falling to 10-14. South never gave up and pushed through the rest of the set with strong play, but the Lions could not overcome the slight early deficit, losing 20-25.
Captain Stella Owings said the team energy and level of play were good during the game.
“I️ don’t think anyone left with regrets,” she said. “I️ thought we played really well at the end. I feel like people gave up before [the game] even started, and then as i️t went on we got more power and energy. At the beginning, we played as if we were scared of the ball and scared of [North], which was upsetting and frustrating. We picked i️t up at the end but i️t wasn’t enough.”
