By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
It looked like it would never end. Volleyball games are played to 25 points, win by two. So, the first team to 25 points does not automatically win. Achieving a two-point margin can be difficult. Think of tennis where they have instituted a tie breaker system to avoid endless back and forth games. In the Flucos first game against the Spotswood Trailblazers on Nov. 4, the Flucos prevailed 37-35. Fluco Coach Christi Harlowe said that in her coaching career it was the second longest game she ever witnessed.
The game was amazingly close from the start. There were ties at 7-7, 15-15 and 21-21. A ball into the net gave Spotswood a 24-22 lead. The Fluco bounced back for two points and a 24-24 tie. Spotswood went up by a point and Harlowe called a time-out. The Flucos scored two to go ahead 26-25 and Spotswood called a time-out. Understandably, both coaches were anxious to win the first game. The two teams then traded points. With the score at an amazing 35-35, the Flucos won a point on Spotswood’s serve. Junior Mary Alice Kidd took serve for the Flucos and Senior Molly McCall finally put the game away for the Flucos with a kill shot.
Early in the second game, The Flucos served a series of aces to go up 8-4. The Trailblazers came back and it was 14-14 halfway through the game. Another tie score came at 18-18. With McCall serving the Flucos took a 23-18 lead with three service aces. Spotswood broke McCall’s crucial service run for a 23-19 score but could not score on its serve and the Flucos led 24-19. Senior Kayla Wrigley served an ace for the win.
With a 2-0 lead in games, the Flucos were in excellent shape. In the third game, the Flucos started strong running out to a 10-4 lead, which caused Spotswood to call a time-out. The Flucos continued to dominate after the time-out upping their lead to nine points at 14-5. The Trailblazers did not fold and they cut the lead to four points at 20-16. Harlowe called time-out. The Flucos then outscored Spotwood 5-3 for a final score of 25-19.
The statistics for the match show that Fluco star McCall has recovered from the injury that limited her playing time in the Jefferson District championship game. She recorded 19 kill shots and five service aces. Senior Elizabeth Garret contributed eight kill shots, 17 assists and four aces. Wrigley had 16 digs and six aces. Sophomore Norah Ferrel contributed 14 assists.
On Nov. 6, the Flucos played their second game in Region play, which is a win or go home format. They traveled to Broadway High and scored a three games to two win, They now move on to the semi-finals of Region play.
