Emily Ricks leads Princeton volleyball to second round

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on October 18, 2014 11:57 PM

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PRINCETON -- After a slow start, freshman Emily Ricks walked behind the back line with her team trailing by four.

Serving in a varsity playoff game for the time, an expressionless Ricks surveyed the situation.

She served.

Point Bulldogs.

Another point Bulldogs.

And another.

Princeton scored 19 straight points, Ricks' demeanor never changed and proved the catalyst in a 25-11, 25-21, 25-14 win against Bear Grass Charter in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A playoffs Saturday afternoon.

Ricks' 20th serve dropped into the net, but the Bulldogs won the first set.

"That felt really  good," Ricks said of her long run. "But that last (serve) ugh. Oh well."

The Bulldogs started slow in the second and third set as well. Head coach Paige Renfrow thought her team would come out much better after playing its best game of the season against Lakewood on Wednesday.

Maybe it was the non-typical weekend schedule that caused the lull. Maybe it was the Bulldogs not expecting to play a competitive Bears team. Maybe, in the words of senior Charley Cox, they're "just slow at the start."

Princeton trailed 8-4 in each of the three sets before eventually going on runs of at least of seven points to get out in front. The real task was getting Bear Grass middle hitter Taylor Lilley off the front line.

Lilley and Rachel Vann surprised the Bulldogs with their ability to block and play at the net, so much so that they had to alter how they played their passes. Lilley had nine blocks and six kills for the Bears, and Vann added four blocks.

"They were blocking straight on, so we just had to adjust and turn our arm and put it in the holes they were leaving open," senior hitter Hailey Wood said.

Renfrow said another key to beating the Bears' blockers was getting the sets off quicker so Lilley and Vann couldn't get to a spot in time to block it.

Once they made the adjustment, Cox and Co. got rolling. Wood smashed 12 kills and Taylor Carroll added 10. Cox finished with 28 assists, including a perfect set to Wood for the kill of the match in the third set to get Princeton the serve.

It was just in time for Ricks to finish the match with four straight service points.

Her final point?

An ace.

And finally, there it was: a smile.