SK looked a little flat at first against Ballard. Ballard jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the first set before Kelsey Holland went on a scoring run to put SK in front for good. The Neers played with a high degree of fun and executed several trick plays that we had not seen all year. They end up winning easily in the first set by a score of 25-16.
The second set looked like a replay; SK goes down early but comes back again taking the lead that they would not relinquish. Biz Manser made a play in the second set where she hit a ball with what looked like a back-hand tennis return as she was headed toward the bleachers. SK would do what they needed to in order to get that point which gave them the mo that they carried to a 25-17 win. The Neers looked as relaxed as they have all year and played in a manner where they just looked like they were having fun. Key stats for the match; Rachael Figgins with 8 kills; Ellie Smith with 6 kills, Sarah Sergent with 26 assists and Schmee had 12 digs.
Once SK wrapped up their match with Ballard; they headed through the maze , and a bumpy ride for Big Schmee, to the middle school for a match with the South Oldham Dragons, a team in the 8th Region locked in the same District as the other two Oldhams. SK looked good early in the first set before they tensed up and had trouble getting their hits to drop on the floor in the tight confines of the Highlands Middle School gym. SK battled back towards the end of the set but still fell by a score of 18-25. The loss took a shot at the looseness the team built during the Ballard game.
The Dragons took it to the Neers in the second set early and often. South would build a lead that would extend to 19-10 sending the bus driver out to warm up the cheese wagon. While South doesn’t have the gaudy record of their Oldham counterparts, they are a solid club which has battled with the best in the 8th and frankly looked to be a notch up on our beloved Neers.
But then; something happened. SK played with a refuse to lose mentality that we haven’t seen all year. Amarah “Airforce” Nicholson was flying around, coming out of nowhere to put blocks on the Dragon hitters that seemed to rattle them. The Neers went on an absolutely amazing 11-2 run to tie the match at 21 before they would go on to the 25-22 win. Wow, wow, wow! More importantly, SK clearly had the momentum on their side.
SK would look to be in control of the final set going up 7-4 before South would come back and tie the game at 7. The teams traded point after point with the game being tied at 11 and then again at 13 -before Carson Elliott would serve the final two points to secure SK’s biggest come back of the season. Key stats for the match; Rachael Figgins with 5 kills and 4 blocks; Ellie Smith with 4 kills; Amarah had 5 kills and 7 blocks, Schmee with 15 digs and Sarah Sergent racked up 20 assists. Now that was fun!
SK plays again tomorrow in the Jam Cake Classic as they get bumped from playing in Ft. Thomas due to the ESPN High School Football game and have to play at the Next Level Academy, close to the Wilder City Building.