Chargers prevail in CPIC 1-A opener

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 12, 2008 1:20 PM

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Finish while you have the chance.

An abrupt lineup change and a sudden shift in momentum forced Wayne Country Day into a fourth game before the Chargers ultimately pulled out a 25-10, 25-11, 21-25, 25-14 victory over Faith Christian of Rocky Mount on Thursday.

Wayne Country Day's lead grew to as much as 11-4 in game three before the Chargers' lineup got a facelift and the Patriots came storming back. With a player forced to the locker room battling illness, Wayne Country Day was left with no choice but to make a substitution and Faith capitalized by rattling off 10 straight points.

"One of our girls was in the bathroom (sick) and we had to change our lineup a little bit," said Chargers head coach Juliet Jones. "They just couldn't adjust to the change ... that's really what it was. I had girls that were playing back where they had never played before and I'm just thankful that we turned it around."

Wayne Country Day led as late as 21-20 on Bridgette Briggs' kill, but Faith answered with Haley Gurganus' ace and blocks by Caroline Taylor and Stephanie Hendrick down the stretch. The Chargers gave away critical points with unforced errors.

Wayne Country Day (6-2 overall) appeared to have regrouped from the outset of game four. Lewis, Briggs and Brooke Norris contributed two kills apiece early on as the Chargers jumped out to a 9-4 advantage. Norris finished with 13 kills, while Lewis and Briggs both had 12.

After losing some control of the net in game three, Wayne Country Day reestablished its offensive presence in game four. Briggs continued to pound out kills and Kim Martell got into the act with three of her own to put Faith away for good in the Class 1-A Coastal Plains Independent Conference match.

"I think we were refocused and we sucked it up because I told my sick player I really needed her," said Jones. "The momentum boost was also there and our serving was there, and our hitting was pretty much on."

The Chargers set the tone with serving early in the match. Wayne Country Day recorded 12 aces as it sailed through the first two games. Lewis served 13 consecutive points during game one and she recorded five of her nine total aces during that stretch. Briggs and Norris added kills during the run.

Martell picked up aces on four out of five points in game two and finished with eight to go along with nine kills. Briggs ended the match with 18 assists and Sterling Coggins chipped in eight.

"We have a lot of great servers on our team and they really capitalized on that," said Jones. "I think their momentum was down so we took advantage of that situation. I'm really proud of my girls."

The Chargers travel to Epiphany today.