Published: Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 / Updated: Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 11:31 PM

Lady Falcons sweep Boiling Springs; Lady Bearcats ousted by Hillcrest

FORT MILL -- The Nation Ford Lady Falcons volleyball team breezed through its second-round opponent Boiling Springs 3-0 on Thursday to advance to the third round of the Class AAAA state playoffs.

The fourth-ranked team in Class AAAA, Nation Ford (25-3) won 25-16, 25-20 and 25-13 in sweeping its second straight playoff match after winning Tuesday in the first round against Spring Valley.

The Lady Falcons play again on Tuesday at home against Hillcrest, a 3-2 winner over Rock Hill, in the third round of the playoffs.

“It is going to get a lot harder from here on out,” Nation Ford Carrie Christian said.

Nation Ford has already beaten Rock Hill once this year, winning in three sets back in September. But Rock Hill was without one of its stronger players and Christian said things will be different this time around.

“They know its going to be hard,” she said.

Against Boiling Springs, Nation Ford made it look anything but hard. Led by junior Sara Bebeau and senior captain Morgan Wolf, the Lady Falcons never trailed through the first two sets of the match.

Bebeau had a double-double with 19 kills and 14 digs to go along with a .471 hitting percentage. Wolf had seven digs.

“She made a huge difference for us,” Christian said of Wolf.

With a constant show of energy, Wolf led on and off the court, jumping off the bench every time Nation Ford scored.

“I didn't think we played as well as we could have in the first round, but we stepped it up,” Wolf said. “I want to make it to state.”

Juniors Ally Lambert added seven kills, three digs and two blocks for Nation Ford. Sheila Walsh had 34 assists, two aces and six digs.

In the opening set, Nation Ford jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back. The Lady Falcons came out and played aggressive at the net going up 7-1 before Boiling Springs fought its way back with strong serves to pull within 9-6.

The Lady Bulldogs pulled to within 10-9, but Nation Ford scored five straight to make it 15-9 before Boiling Springs called a time out.

The Lady Falcons went up 18-11 and extended that lead to 22-12 on a 4-1 run to force another Boiling Springs time out.

Boiling Springs scored two straight points out of the time out, but the Lady Falcons never lost momentum and cruised to the 25-16 win.

The second set was more of the same for Nation Ford. Boiling Springs tied the set at 4-4, but Bebeau scored three straight points for a 7-4 Falcons lead. Nation Ford maintain a two- to three-point advantage for the remainder of the contest and took the set 25-20.

In the third and final set, Boiling Springs took its first lead of the match going up 2-0 to start, but Nation Ford showed its strength the rest of the set for a 25-13 victory.

Boiling Springs finished the season 12-8.

Mac Banks

HILLCREST 3, ROCK HILL 2 — Rock Hill's brief playoff run ended with a heartbreaking five-game loss to Hillcrest in the third round of the Class AAAA playoffs.

The Rams have squared off with Rock Hill three straight seasons in the playoffs and have won each time. Hillcrest won 3-0 in 2007 en route to a second straight state championship and escaped Rock Hill a year ago in a controversial five-game match.

“We just got a little panicked there in the fifth set, and (Hillcrest) kept their composure,” Rock Hill coach Cindy Elder said.

Thursday's thriller saw Hillcrest (18-3) take a 2-1 edge after three games. The Rams took games one and three by identical 25-20 scores. Powered by junior all-state selection Christina Vereb, Rock Hill (14-4) claimed game two, 25-17.

Vereb had seven of her 22 kills in game two.

Needing to win two straight games to extend their season, the Bearcats stormed out to a 12-4 lead in game four behind the serving of seniors Sally Southwell, Alyshia Tribuzio and Morgan Brazzell, who is headed to the North-South game on Nov. 21.

The determined Lady 'Cats squad kept their foot on the throttle and cruised to a 25-14 win to carry the momentum into the deciding fifth game in front an energized gym filled with several hundred fans.

Game 5 was tied seven times as neither side could find breathing room. The Bearcats took a 10-8 lead, forcing Hillcrest coach Lynn Avant to take a timeout.

The Rams reeled off four straight points to take a 12-8 advantage and didn't relinquish their lead.

“Rock Hill gets better every year, and we were lucky to get out of here. We just happened to make the right play at the right time. It was back and forth all night,” Avant said. “You know, I don't know what the good Lord is doing, but that's the only reason we won because the two teams are pretty much equal. (Rock Hill) made a lot of great plays, and I don't know why we won.”

Avant and the Rams are happy to escape with another win over the Bearcats.

“I don't ever want to have to come back,” she said. “I don't want to play them, and they're going to do some damage (next year).”

Rock Hill looks to again make a run in 2010 but will do so without a standout senior class that has meant a great deal to the program.

“We should be competitive next year. We're losing a lot of our defensive players,” Elder said.

About her seniors, Elder said: “They're fantastic kids and excellent students. They work hard in all they do, and several of them didn't miss a summer workout at 7 o'clock in the morning, and that says a lot for a high school kid. They do every single thing we ask them to do, and they played tough... It's going to take them a long way.”

Mychal Frost

BYRNES 3, FORT MILL 2 — Fort Mill's season came to an end with a five-set loss to Byrnes in the third round of the Class AAAA state playoffs.