The Nation Ford Falcons haven’t had a lot of matches that looked like their third-round playoff match.
The Falcons’ girls’ volleyball team swept a strong Riverside Warriors team 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 31-29), but it wasn’t without some nail-biting action.
The win improved Nation Ford to 29-4 overall as they will host the Upper State championship on Tuesday, Nov. 3 against the Greenville Red Raiders, with the winner going to the 4A state championship on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Riverside was one of the tougher opponents the Falcons had faced in a while. The Warriors scored first to open the match, but the strength of Nation Ford quickly showed up as they went up 9-6 with the help of several kills from Lila Martin. Riverside kept it close making some in-set adjustments, but every time they pull within a couple of points, Nation Ford would widen their lead.
After a Riverside timeout, the Warriors scored four straight points to again pull within two of the Falcons as the host team took a timeout to regroup. The Warriors kept Nation Ford off-balance at times and tied the opening set at 18. The set would go back and forth at that point with both teams taking timeouts and the lead before the Falcons grabbed a 26-24 win.
The Falcons scored first to open the second set, but Riverside rattled off seven consecutive points after the opening point. A timeout didn’t help much as Riverside held command of the set while the Falcons struggled in returns and controlling the tempo. Nation Ford struggled uncharacteristically with unforced errors that allowed Riverside to take a commanding lead at 20-12.
And then just like that, things turned around for the Falcons. Trailing 23-16, Nation Ford scored 10 of 11 points including eight straight to rally and get a 26-24 set win and a 2-0 lead.
“That was just grit and determination,” said Nation Ford assistant coach Betsi O’ Shields, filling in for head coach Craig Brown, who was still out because of a death in his family. “It shifted the momentum of the entire match.”
The match continued to be close as the Falcons kept a slight lead in the early going of the third set. After being tied at seven early in the set, Nation Ford started opening a gap off Martin’s serving. That lead was short lived as Riverside rallied to tie the set at 16.
Both teams again went back and forth unable to gain a significant advantage. Each team got to a point they stretched the set out as neither was able to get a two-point advantage until Nation Ford scored three points in a row trailing 29-28 to get a 31-29 third set win and a sweep in the match.
Oct. 28 Roundup
The Fort Mill girls’ tennis team fell to Lexington High School 4-3 pushing the match to a third set for No. 1 doubles. Getting wins for Fort Mill were Abhi NallaReddy 6-3, 6-1; Kendall McCarty 4-6, 6-2, 10-6; and in No. 2 doubles Ellie Corbett and Evie Dyer won 3-6, 6-0, 10-4. Three of the seven matches went to a third set tie breaker including both doubles matches. Fort Mill finished the season at 13-3 overall.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
