Princeton cruises past Spring Creek in volleyball

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on September 5, 2014 1:49 PM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Princeton volleyball coach Paige Renfrow spent a lot of time pointing to the front middle service square on her clipboard Thursday evening.

Spring Creek struggled to return the soft serves and the Bulldogs finished with seven aces during their 25-22, 25-16, 25-23 win in Carolina 1-A Conference play.

"We saw a hole in the middle there and we were able to take advantage of it," Renfrow said. "The girls have gotten a lot better with their serve percentages since we started using the board, and they were having trouble passing the ball from that position."

Quality serves were the Bulldogs' best offense since they sputtered in their passing game. Taylor Carroll smashed 11 kills and had five digs, while teammates Kasey and Kortney Edwards combined for 11 kills.

Hailey Wood recorded six blocks.

Defense also helped the Bulldogs. When caught in long rallies, they scrambled -- digging out spikes just barely clearing bumps over the net to spots the Gators couldn't handle.

"We were very good defensively," Renfrow said. "We were able to get to their shots and pass good enough with each to return them. But offensively we have a lot to work on. A lot of times we were setting too close to the net or too far away.

"It wasn't as good as we wanted."

Spring Creek lost for the second time this season overall and in conference play. Senior setter Sarah Ford said the Gators are striving for the Bulldogs' consistent level of success.

"Princeton is a really good team," said Ford, who finished the match with 13 assists. "For a young team like us it was good to play them. We're hoping to get ourselves to that level by the end of the year."

Ford and fellow senior Rachel McCollum led a scrappy Gators' defense that never quit fighting, even after falling behind 12-2 in the second set. Spring Creek battled back to within five points before Princeton started a four-point run.

McCollum suffered a floor burn on her hand during the rally. She tore off a chunk of skin, threw it on the floor and came back ready to play.

"She was great," head coach Staci Pence said of McCollum, who had six kills. "She -- and all of the girls -- worked so hard and showed so much heart tonight. I'm really proud of how they fought."

Spring Creek went on a seven-point run to take a 20-17 lead in the third set. Princeton regained control with five straight points against the Gators, who were playing their third game in three days.

"I think we were a little bit worn out from Tuesday and (Wednesday)," Ford said. "I think if we played them on Tuesday this might have been a little different."