The Fossil Ridge Sabercats beat the Riverdale Ridge Ravens 3-1 to bring their league record to 2-1 on Thursday, April 4.
The two teams started evenly matched, but the Sabercats struggled to get in a rhythm, hitting four outs in a row and the ball into the net. The score eventually reached 23-15, Ravens in the lead.
However, the Sabercats did not get discouraged, and with some long rallies, they clawed up to 23-18, still behind but leaving the Ravens with enough pressure to call a timeout.
When the game resumed, the Sabercats gained four points and brought the score to 24-22 before the Ravens could catch their breath. With two more points, they could enter a deuce.
However, with another net ball, the Sabercats gave the Ravens the first set at 25-23.
The team did not let their close comeback defeat crush their spirits, even when the Ravens started the second set strong with a 5-2 lead. Just like the last set, Fossil knows how to take those points back.
They put on the pressure with long rallies and hard-hitting kills, eventually getting the Ravens to spike the ball out of bounds, tying the game 8-8. Fossil wasted no time gaining more points, and after another long rally, Fossil led 10-8. The Ravens called a timeout.
The Ravens once again pulled ahead at 20-16, but Fossil got it together and tied to score 23-23. Suddenly, the teams found themselves in the same situation as the last set.
Both teams were in it to win it, as seen by the score getting to 24-24, then 25-25, 26-26, and so on. No one wanted to back down.
Finally, the score hit 28-27. Fossil needed one more point to win the set, and they delivered. Senior Tannor Christians got the final kill of the set with a cross-court shot. At 29-27, Fossil won set two.
Now tied, the Ravens started set three like the rest, leaving Fossil behind 2-6. However, Fossil hit a point streak that caught them right up, tying 12-12.
With that tie, no one can get away. The Sabercats score, the Ravens take it back; the Ravens pull ahead, the Sabercats are right on their tail. The teams both call timeouts as the points rack up, but it does not make a dent, as they are once again tied 24-24. Another deuce is going down.
Fossil showed their best execution in spikes, digs, and blocks in these final few points, eventually pulling away at 27-25 to win the third set.
These wins gave the Sabercats some much-earned confidence, as throughout the fourth set, the Ravens did not take the lead once. They called a timeout at 10-4 after a 5-point streak from the Sabercats, and they could not pull off the same miracle as their opponents.
The Ravens called their second timeout when they hit the ball out and got the score to 19-12. However, the momentum was flipped. At the start of the game, the Sabercats were making mistakes with net balls and hitting out of bounds, but as the game progressed, the Ravens started to slip into those mistakes.
The Ravens’ blocking and recovery stayed strong, which allowed them to get a bit of a streak from 22-15 to 24-20, but it was not enough against Fossil’s fast attacks. The Sabercats had too much of a lead and got the final point to win the fourth and final set 25-20.
The Sabercats are ready to take on their next league opponent, the so far undefeated Legacy Lightning, on Tuesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Timnath Middle High School.
