Warriors break even in clash with Smoky Valley
MHS loses second match after taking first, 2-0
Sports reporter
Marion High School volleyball team played host to Smoky Valley Sept. 21, and proved once again it can hang with its new league opponents.
MHS took the first match of the night, winning 2-0 behind the offense of junior Megan Hudson and senior Sarah Williams. Hudson had four kills in the two games, and Williams added three kills and two aces.
Marion won the first game 25-20. The Warriors jumped out to an 11-2 lead, and never trailed. Hudson had three kills and an ace in the first six points of the game, and Williams recorded the final point of the game with an ace.
In game two Smoky Valley came out more prepared, but still trailed 14-11 halfway through. Marion used a 9-0 run, led by junior Toni Gordon's two kills, to turn a 6-3 deficit into a 12-6 lead.
"These girls do a very good job of fighting back," head coach Kara Chisholm said.
The Vikings cut the Warriors lead to one at 20-19, but senior Amber Richmond answered with a kill, and Marion never looked back. The Warriors finished off Smoky Valley, 25-21.
The second match of the night didn't fare as well for Marion. Smoky Valley came out spiking with a vengeance.
The Vikings jumped out to an early 11-4 lead. Two aces by senior Leann Thomas, and a kill by Williams, brought Marion back to within two, at 11-9. Hudson then tied the match at 20 with a kill, but it was as close at the Warriors would get.
Smoky Valley gave up only one more point, taking the match 25-18.
"They just came out more prepared for us in the second match," Chisholm said.
The Warriors used some of that comeback magic Chisholm talked about in the second game. Trailing 22-14 it looked bleak for Marion. But senior Chelsi Carlson started a comeback with a kill. Williams then fired of five aces in a row, bringing Marion within two.
Four plays later Hudson got the crowd on its feet when her kill tied the match at 23.
It look like the Warriors would send the match into a third game, but a block by Smoky Valley and a Marion error ended any chance of victory.
"I was pleased to come out with a split," Chisholm said. "The girls played very, very well in the first game."
The split leaves Marion at 3-1 in the Mid-Central Activities Association, and 9-8 overall.
