PINETOWN — The Northside gymnasium was plastered with pink and black posters Tuesday night in commemoration of two senior leaders on the volleyball team, as well as the “Dig Pink” breast cancer awareness campaign, a Senior Night tradition. But for Kendall Alligood and Sarah Rhem, the night offered more than simply a chance to reflect upon the last four years. It was an opportunity to shine.

And both seniors did just that, providing a much-needed spark in a gritty 3-2 victory over Lejeune on Tuesday night. Alligood recorded 22 sets and three aces, while Rhem had one of her best matches of the year, smashing eight kills.

“If anything, the seniors set the pace for the match, whether it was Kendall cheering them on, pumping them up and giving them good sets, or Sarah, who can get some of those great kills,” said head coach Kayla Maddox. “I think the girls looked to them tonight a little more than they usually do, and they came through for them.”

The Devil Pups entered with just four wins, but the visitors played much better than their record. Sophomore setter Jayda Bodine had a flawless match, her match-high 24 assists strengthening the front line and preserving her team’s momentum. Lejeune kept unforced errors to a minimum and required the host to come through with big plays down the stretch.

Hitters Derriya Robertson, Kimimila Collins and Kaitlyn Bryson fed off of Bodines sets and tested the Northside backline. Bryson finished with 10 kills, while Collins notched eight. Despite some offensive inconsistency, Northside’s Savannah Slade was the difference defensively, leading the team in digs and covering enough ground to frustrate the Devil Pup hitters.

Rhem, middle hitter Rachel Lang and Alligood went to work in the first game and kept the Devil Pups’ defense in a constant state of motion. Anna Gibbs thwarted a collection of kill attempts with four blocks in a Panthers’ 25-19 win.

But the Panthers followed a solid first game with a disastrous second. Tied at 12 points, Lejeune went on a huge run, capitalizing off Northside errors and scoring 13 of the next 14 points. The Devil Pups decisively took Game 2, 25-13.

After a pep talk from Maddox, Northside looked like a different team in the third game — energized, consistent and able to fight back when facing a deficit. Gibbs notched another two blocks, while Lang smashed three kills in a 25-21 win.

The seesaw affair continued in the fourth game, as the Panthers saw yet another lead slip through their fingers in dramatic fashion. Up 24-22, back-to-back kills from Robertson and Bryson tied the game at 24 and after a couple lead changes, including a melodramatic Lejeune point that required close to two minutes to earn, the Devil Pups took Game 4, 28-26.

With the upset looming, Northside regrouped, leaned on its seniors and jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the fifth-game. But again, Lejeune fought back, cutting the deficit to five, though the comeback came too little too late. Northside took the final game, 15-10.
“They were tight and they were a different team than we’re used to playing,” Maddox said. “Once we adjusted, we did fine, but they were everywhere we were. I tell them every match, if you’ll make them work harder on their defense than that will make our lives much easier. They took that to heart this time and that’s what really helped us get that eight-point lead in the beginning” of the fifth game.

“It’s such a double-edged sword because on the one end, I like the exciting matches like this more, but you want it to be easy, win three and go home,” Maddox said. “But I think we needed a match like that, especially this late in the season, to remind there is competition like that out there and we may have to fight this hard.”

With the win, Northside improves to 7-5 (5-4 CPC) heading into Thursday’s road match against Southside.