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Potter-Dix ambushes sub district field

Coyotes knock off Hemingford, Creek Valley to advance

The Potter-Dix Coyotes emerged from the third seed to take the crown in the Class D1 District 12 sub district tournament Monday night at Bayard High School.

The Coyotes (11-13) ended the season of #2 seed Hemingford (17-13) with a thrilling five-set victory (18-25, 25-18, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12) in their opening match.

In the championship, which was nearly as close, Potter-Dix turned back the top seeded Creek Valley Storm (15-10) in four sets by scores of 25-19, 25-21, 23-25 and 25-22.

The Storm opened the tournament by knocking off fourth seed Morrill (5-21) 3-1 to advance to the championship match. The Storm ended the Lions season with scores of 25-19, 13-25, 25-18 and 25-17.

"I think we're playing the best we've played all season," said the Coyotes' Regyn Hicks. "I don't know what it was tonight. Maybe it just came down to who wanted it the most."

Though Potter-Dix has had an up-and-down season, the sub district win marked the third straight time the Coyotes have knocked off Creek Valley. Each of the victories was by the same 3-1 score.

By winning the sub district tournament, the Coyotes advance to the district finals on Thursday against tonight's D1-11 sub district finals winner. Sutherland will meet Brady at Gothenburg High School at 7 p.m. CST. The upstart #4 Sutherland team eliminated top seeded North Platte St. Patrick's in five sets. #2 Brady ended #3 Maxwell's season in straight sets.

"I'm just glad this part is done," said the Coyotes Head Coach Kristi Jung. "I'm so proud of the way the team hung in there and didn't stop fighting even when they got behind by five or six points."

Perhaps the most important comeback for Potter-Dix was when they climbed out of an early 4-7 hole against Hemingford in the fifth set. In a race to 15, even small deficits can appear magnified. But when senior Morgan Wolff drove home a kill, the tide began to move the Coyotes way for good.

Once Potter-Dix knotted the set at seven, there followed ties at eight, nine and 11. Wolff's ace broke the tie for good in a 4-1 Coyotes run to end the match. The final blow was dealt by Alexus Rozelle, who drove home a kill on passes from Kinley Vowers and Taylor Juelfs.

"We know what it takes to focus and we dig deep," Juelfs said. "We just played it point-by-point. We never got ahead of ourselves."

After a break of about 40 minutes, the Coyotes began their battle with Creek Valley for all the marbles. The sets were all close as neither team was able to attain more than a three or four-point lead, at least for long. Though game one at 25-19 was the most lopsided final, it was a close tussle most of the way. There were six ties in the opener including the final deadlock at 15.

Set one began to go Potter-Dix's way after the knot at 15 was broken by two Storm kill errors. It began a five-point Coyotes run which included an ace by Hicks, a block from Rozelle and a kill by Rozelle. Hicks scored the final point of the set.

The second set didn't get any easier for either side. There were 11 ties in the set inlcuding the final one at 21. The Storm's Hannah Schievelbein forged the final deadlock with an ace from the service line. But the Coyotes had the final say with a four-point run to give the Potter-Dix a 2-0 set lead.

There was plenty of drama too in three, as the Storm decided they weren't willing to leave Bayard without a fight. Creek Valley's Stefanie MItchell got things going the Storm's way with a kill to open the set. But as was the case in all the games, it was a neck-and-neck battle all the way.

While Potter-Dix led by as many as four points on several occassions, Creek Valley never led by more than two - the final margin of their victory. The Storm climbed out of its last four-point hole at 20-16. Summer Mueller threw down an emphatic kill to get the contest back to 20-19. It wasn't until a Coyotes error finally tied it up at 22.

The Storm's Jill Behrends took matters largely in her own hands as set three neared an end. She helped give Creek Valley their first lead of set three since it held an 8-7 edge early on.

Behrends tipped a soft shot over the net for a 23-22 edge. She also broke a 23-23 tie after taking passes from Shania Brown and Madison Blackwelder. Her kill shot gave the Storm game point. On the next serve, Mueller and Blackwelder were the chain that led to Behrends final point - a smash down the middle to cut the Coyotes set lead to 2-1.

"I think we were getting a little lazy or tired at times," said freshman Dawson Sharman who was one of five Coyotes with 18 plus digs. "But our determination helped us keep it together and we pulled it out."

With the help of an ace by Behrends and a two hard smashes by Mueller, Creek Valley took a three-point advantage at 4-1 to start set number four. The Storm went on to keep Potter-Dix on their heels for much of the early part of the game and eventually built a 13-6 lead after a Mitchell touch shot. The seven-point advantage was the largest by either team the entire match.

To get out of its seven-point hole, the Coyotes suddenly reversed the momentum flow. Hicks ended a long point with a kill shot to bring Potter-Dix to within one at 15-14 to end an 8-2 Coyotes run. A short time later Rozelle scored three-straight points to finally give Coyotes the advantage at 18-17. It was the first time they had led the entire set.

An ace by Wolff gave her team its first two-point edge at 21-19. From that point the Coyotes held the lead until a service error by Creek Valley ended the match.

"For a while there we got away from attacking and Creek Valley had some good digs and service runs," Jung said. "But the girls never felt out of it. They kept fighting."

 

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