The Catawba Ridge girls’ volleyball team shrugged off a slow start to beat the Rock Hill Bearcats in five sets.
The Copperheads won 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-6) after dropping the first two sets. The win put Catawba Ridge at 11-6 overall and 4-1 in Region 3-5A.
Rock Hill scored first and the two teams started trading points until Catawba Ridge scored nine straight points in the fifth set to finish the match after having things tied at six.
The Copperheads started the first set going up 5-0. They were able to keep that lead as Rock Hill took a timeout trailing 7-1, but played better out of the timeout to climb back into the first set only trailing by three at 12-9.
Rock Hill stayed competitive placing shots just out of reach of the Copperheads. Down 17-13, the Bearcats came back to tie the set at 17 and force Catawba Ridge into a timeout.
The set stayed tight out of the timeout, but Catawba Ridge took a small 23-21 lead before another Bearcats timeout.
The timeout worked as Rock Hill rallied to score four straight points to win the first set.
Catawba Ridge struggled at the net to start the second set as they were unable to set up kills as Rock Hill took a small lead.
The Copperheads found a groove but it was just enough to match the Bearcats point for point and not enough to pull ahead.
Catawba Ridge struggled with their passes, which allowed Rock Hill to go up 13-9. The Copperheads pulled within one at 13-12, before a Bearcats timeout to slow things down for Catawba Ridge.
The timeout again worked for Rock Hill as they kept the lead, despite the Copperheads being within striking distance. Although Catawba Ridge challenged them, they were unable to fully rally as the Bearcats took the second set to go up 2-0.
Copperheads head coach Alica Lisee talked to her team between the second and third set.
“We have to respect who is on the other side of the court,” Lisee said. “When we got up 8-1 in the first set, we thought it was going to be a cakewalk. We are young and have a lot of experience, but we are in a good spot.”
Catawba Ridge came out stronger to start the third set and went up early 6-2. The Copperheads went up 8-4 as the Bearcats called a timeout.
Out of the break, the Copperheads didn’t falter this time and kept the lead despite Rock Hill playing them close.
Catawba Ridge had a decent 19-15 lead when the Bearcats took another timeout. The Copperheads continued to play well after the timeout and kept the lead preventing a Rock Hill sweep.
Catawba Ridge scored first in the fourth set, but it was the Bearcats that quickly gained the advantage.
The Copperheads found some inner motivation and rallied to go up 9-7. However, neither team was able to keep a consistent lead as each rallied to tie the set on two occasions.
Catawba Ridge pushed ahead to go up 18-15 as Rock Hill tried to regroup with a timeout. The Copperheads came out of the timeout even stronger and went on to tie the match at two by winning the set and forcing a fifth set.
Sept. 18 Roundup
The Catawba Ridge boys’ volleyball team improved to 5-0 in Region 3-5A and 13-3 overall with a 3-0 win over Rock Hill with scores of 25-13, 25-15, 25-23.
The Fort Mill boys’ volleyball team beat Indian Land in five sets to improve to 5-7 overall and 2-3 in Region 3-5A. Fort Mill won 23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 15-7 against the Warriors.
The Nation Ford girls’ volleyball team swept Clover 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-18) to improve to 15-4 overall and 5-0 in Region 3-5A.
The Fort Mill girls’ team beat Indian Land 4-2 to improve to 6-0 on the season. Winning for Fort Mill was Abhi Nallareddy 6-0, 6-2; Molly Goodson 6-3, 6-1; Avalon Stevens 6-0, 6-2; and in doubles Sofia Burger and Ellie Corbet 6-2, 6-3.
The Catawba Ridge swim team beat both Indian Land and the Governor’s School. The Catawba Ridge boys beat Indian Land 123-42 and Governor’s School 135-23. The Lady Copperheads beat Indian Land 121-42 and the Governor’s School 133-23. Individual winners for Catawba Ridge were: AG Marino – girls’ 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke, Grayson Perkiss – boys’ 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, Asher Craig – boys’ 200-yard individual medley, Amelia Meehan – girls’ 50-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, Zachary Zickos – boys’ 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle, Belle Gload – girls’ 100-yard freestyle, JT Pierson – boys’ 100-yard backstroke, and Mickey Tong – boys’ 100-yard breaststroke.
On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the Catawba Ridge girls’ golf team improved to 7-0 with a 162-215 win over South Pointe at Fort Mill Golf Club. The Lady Copperheads were led by a 38 from Brooke Mehlhouse, a 39 from Anjali Peddisetty, a 42 from EllaRose Hill and a 43 from Charley Barron-Haggarty.
On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Nation Ford swim team grabbed several more wins against Lancaster County opponents. The Nation Ford boys’ beat Andrew Jackson 134-0, Indian Land 124-36, Lancaster 130-13, and Buford 131-8. The Lady Falcons won 140-4 over Lancaster, 137-11 over Andrew Jackson, 140-0 over Buford, and 133-31 over Indian Land. Nation Ford swept all six relay events and won all 16 individual events. Individuals winning events for Nation Ford were: Kenna Zimmerly – girls’ 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke, Gavin Charcalla – boys’ 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, Avery Martin – girls’ 200-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle, Gray Reiger – boys’ 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly, Belle Kolatis – girls’ 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, Austin Coleman – boys’ 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke, Brittany Fisk – girls’ 100-yard freestyle, Levi Vaden – boys’ 100-yard freestyle, Noah Harris – boys’ 100-yard backstroke, and Abby Garcia – girls’ 100-yard breaststroke.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
