Eastern Wayne rallies past Beddingfield

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on September 19, 2007 2:45 PM

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Brooke Newsome's serve has an uncanny ability to always find the weakest player on the court.

Even against one of its toughest opponents of the season, the Eastern Wayne senior was able to find the Wilson Beddingfield player who did not want the ball.

Newsome recorded a game-high 17 aces to lead the Warriors to a come-from-behind 25-21, 20-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-6 win over the Bruins on Tuesday evening. Eastern Wayne (10-0 overall) remained unbeaten in three Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference matches.

The Bruins (10-2, 2-1) nearly ruined the perfect record until Newsome helped change the momentum.

"That's why she's team captain," said Eastern Wayne coach Bruce Burridge of Newsome. "Brooke gets us rolling, keeps us in the game and keeps us moving. She's that silent weapon.

"She smaller than the majority of the girls, but she's large and in charge with her heart."

Eastern Wayne showed its heart after falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-five match. Beddingfield had flexed its muscle behind hitters Marlisha Best and Jamie DeRatt, who capitalized on every Warrior miscue.

"It was probably some of the worst volleyball we've played all year until the end," said Burridge. "Against a team like Beddingfield you can't do that. You can't wait until the end."

Newsome started game four with five consecutive aces and caused the Bruins to make multiple substitutions on the back row.

"I just aim for the people who aren't passing very well," said Newsome. "If they aren't passing well, I just keep going to that same person."

Even after a service change, the hot start by the Warriors continued. Brittani Billups registered kill after kill while Jordei Osby made her return to the court, giving Eastern Wayne a big lift.

"Jordei hadn't played since last Tuesday and hasn't done anything since then," said Burridge. "It was huge to have her back."

Billups tallied a game-high 25 kills while Osby chipped in 13 to give the Warriors a dynamic 1-2 punch on the front line. It was after a Billups kill that the Warriors went ahead 24-15 in game four before Alysa Artis finished the game with a kill.

In the decisive fifth game, kills by Billups and Osby put the Warriors ahead 2-0 early on. The lead expanded as Newsome began her serving magic.

She recorded four aces as Eastern Wayne grabbed a commanding 10-2 lead.

"I was just focused because this was supposed to be one of our most-difficult games," said Newsome. "I was really ready to go and did whatever I could to get us a win."

Billups finished off the Bruins with three straight kills, followed by an ace.

"They never gave up," said Burridge. "That was the real key. We turned it on, and got lucky in that we weren't that far down and came back."