MOUNT VERNON — Kathy Stevens has a pretty good volleyball team. But then again, so does Kathy Stevens.
The story of the teams with identically named coaches was one with many twists and plot changes on Thursday night, and it wasn’t over until five games had been viciously contested. Almost magically, the Centerburg High School volleyball team defended its home court against Utica, winning the match’s tie-breaking Game 5, 15-13.
“I told the girls that this was a chance to work as a team, and show that they have team spirit,” said Centerburg coach Kathy Stevens. “Earlier in the season we would have folded in this situation, but tonight we didn’t.”
Page 1 of the story went as scripted, with the Trojans taking an early 10-4 lead in the first game. Few expected to see anything different, as the Centerburg squad has been a conference powerhouse for the last decade. Even worse for the visiting Redskins, the Trojans were on their home court. But Utica was ready for a little ad-libbing as the game began to unfold in a way the home crowd never expected. The Redskins were down by as much as 15-7 at one point, but never gave up.
As Centerburg relaxed, Utica intensified its play, making the Trojans panic and commit several uncharacteristic errors. The Redskins went on a 12-4 scoring run that evened the game at 19 points. The Trojans only recovered momentarily, as Utica won the first game, 25-22.
“We had a lot of confidence and we played together,” said Utica head coach Kathy Stevens. “We have talked all year about playing for each other, and we did that. We played together on every point, and didn’t give up.”
Utica’s momentum continued to crush the Centerburg squad in the second game. The contest started with a six-point run from the Redskins, putting Centerburg in a giant hole right from the start.
The Redskins stretched their 6-0 lead into a 12-3 lead, then a 15-7 lead. The Trojans started to regroup, but mistakes continued to haunt the home team as it saw the odds of victory dwindle at an alarming rate. Centerburg faltered to another loss, as Utica kept up the pressure for a 25-19 win.
After Game 2, the tale of the two teams took another turn. As in every story, the hero must win. Unfortunately for the Redskins, the home crowd viewed the Trojans as the heroines of Thursday’s match, which gave the Centerburg players the strength they needed to perform the Herculean task ahead of them.
Down by two games, the Trojans knew what they had to do, and they knew the odds they were against. Centerburg took an early two-point lead that was eventually neutralized. The Redskins tied the game at 8, giving themselves the momentum in what could have been the final game of the match.
But then Centerburg came to life.
“We were making a lot of mistakes, and scoring a lot of points for the other team,” said Centerburg’s Stevens, “but then we quit making mistakes.”
The Trojans scored 11 points before Utica could even respond. The once-deflated Centerburg team was now soaring, and the Redskins were being pulled along behind. Utica couldn’t even manage a dozen points in Game 3, as the Trojans won 25-11.
Centerburg proved Mark Twain’s theory as it continued its domination of Thursday’s match. The Trojans did not repeat their previous win; they merely found a rhyme for it.
Though the score for Game 4 was identical to Game 3’s, the story was a little different. Utica realized that an early lead was imperative for an upset of the Trojans, so the Redskin squad went ahead quickly, 3-1. But Centerburg had its mind set on winning, and win is what it did. The Trojans won Game 4, 25-11.
Though the Redskins had just suffered two almost demoralizing losses, they still realized they were only one win away from taking the match. But the Trojans had the same philosophy.
In Game 5, the Redskins took a quick two-point lead, but then Centerburg tied it back up. Utica took another two-point lead, but the Trojans tied it up again. After one more tie, the Trojans scored four points in a row, leaving Utica down, 10-6.
The fifth game of a volleyball match is only played to 15 points, and Centerburg scored 14 points, while Utica only had 11. But then the Redskins had 12 points, and even 13. Just when they thought they had scored their 14th point, the referees ruled that what Utica thought was an out-of-bounds hit was actually a kill by the Centerburg squad. The Trojans won, 15-13.
“We have an inexperienced team, and we are growing every game,” said Centerburg’s Stevens. “This was a great experience for us to play under that kind of pressure. We were able to handle it, and I am very proud of the girls for that.”
“I am confident that we will take this, and learn from it,” said Utica’s Stevens. “I like that we never gave up, and played clear to the end. We wanted it clear until the last point.”
The Centerburg squad (4-1, 3-1 Mid-Buckeye Conference) was led by Camaranne Myles. Myles had 14 digs and 12 kills, while passing out nine assists. Jess McCann had 10 kills and five blocks, while Melody Maxwell had 13 assists and Kayla Peck had 11 digs.
The Redskins (3-1, 3-1 MBC) were led by Tricia Harvey, who recorded 12 blocks and 10 kills. Katie Hoar added eight assists, while Ashley Gorius and Amanda Wick each had seven digs.
Both teams are in the hunt for a piece of the MBC title, but so are a lot of other teams. Fredericktown is undefeated, and Danville only has one loss. Though the rest of the teams in the conference don’t appear to be threats just yet, the season is still very young.
“The league is tough this year,” said Utica’s Stevens. “We have to go out every night and play to win. This year, anyone can knock anyone else off.”
Centerburg also won the jayvee match, by scores of 25-21 and 25-13.
Utica will play at home on Tuesday, as it takes on Northridge. The Trojans will have another home match on Tuesday, as they take on the Loudonville Redbirds.
“All we have to do is win,” said Centerburg’s Stevens. “We don’t have to win by a lot; we just have to win.”
