THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602210568
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMI FRANKENBERRY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
The Norfolk Academy girls volleyball team rebounded after losing the first two games and rallied in the final two to win the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools tournament championship 14-16, 7-15, 15-2, 15-12, 16-14 over Norfolk Collegiate on Tuesday night at Norfolk Christian.
The regular-season champion Bulldogs (17-2) erased a seven-point deficit in the fourth game and came from five down in the fifth to win their fourth consecutive TCIS tournament.
``It was a pride game,'' said Norfolk Academy's Jackie Johnson, the tournament's Most Valuable Player. ``It was the biggest game of our lives. This is what we came out for.''
But it was the Oaks (16-2) who came out strong. Megan Salb and Katherine Klein each served five consecutive points in the opening game, while Heather Waters served the final seven of the second for Norfolk Collegiate. They took the early lead without senior captain Melanie Sandford, who left midway through the first game with an injured ankle.
``We really got pumped up when (Sandford) went down,'' Oaks coach Tara Voke said. ``That really got us going. Our kids wanted to win it for her because she's our only senior.''
Norfolk Academy then rolled through the third game as Erica Blachman and Johnson served six points each and Catherine Ware added four kills.
In game four, the Oaks jumped to an 8-1 lead thanks to three kills by Elizabeth Swearingen, but Jenny Clark and Sonya Szentpetery combined for nine service points and Szentpetery had three kills in the Bulldogs' comeback.
``It was incredible,'' Clark said. ``We just focused in. We knew down that many points we couldn't make any mistakes. We made sure at the end of the games our momentum was up.''
In the fifth and deciding game, which saw four ties, Norfolk Collegiate led 13-8 before Johnson and Ware served seven of the next nine points for Norfolk Academy.
Ware finished with 13 kills and five blocks, while Szentpetery put 11 of 12 serves in for Bulldog points. Johnson added four aces and four kills and Jessica Hirsch had nine assists.
Salb and Karen Reina were each 18-for-18 serving, while Erin McElroy had seven kills for the Oaks. by CNB