Gainesville High Silence a Buchholz Comeback in Four Sets

Following a win over the Central Cobras, Gainesville entered the hostile crowd of their district rival, Buchholz. The Hurricanes viewed this game as an opportunity to make a statement in the city, and to firmly assert themselves as a competitor for the district title. Generally, away matches against a district rival rarely compare to the energy of a home crowd, however, the Gainesville High student section brought the energy throughout the match that ultimately aided in the Hurricanes’ victory.

First Set

The Hurricanes’ starters matched the energy of their student section and came firing out with a 6-2 lead. This early run was spearheaded by Meme Davis, who totaled seven kills in the match, and invigorated her teammates with her energy. This trend continued as the Bobcats struggled to return serves and win long rallies. Gainesville carried their early lead through the rest of what was a quick set, to take the win 25-13.

Second Set

The momentum established in the first set seemed to be completely lost by the Hurricanes, who quickly fell in a 6-1 deficit. However, a timely timeout taken by head coach Chancie Vice allowed the team to calm down and return to form. The Hurricanes would eventually take a 13-11 lead, but Buchholz would come roaring back. Gainesville seemed deflated after losing a long rally and falling into a four-point deficit. Luckily for the Hurricanes, Buchholz committed multiple, quick errors that fed energy back into the players and fans alike. The team used their newfound momentum to take set with a kill by Freshman, Rowan Kage, by a score of 25-23.

Third Set

The Hurricanes looked to complete the sweep but continued the trend of slow starts by falling into a quick 9-2 hole. Another early timeout was called to reestablish the precedent set by the previous two sets. However, Gainesville remained stifled by errors and misplays that prevented a possible comeback. Upon Buchholz nearly achieving victory the Hurricanes mounted a short-lived swing, where they used three consecutive Bobcat errors to cut the lead down to four. Ultimately, they could not overcome their lackluster start and dropped the set by a score of 25-21.

Fourth Set

Gainesville began this set determined to prevent the Bobcats from building on the previous success by firing out to a 4-1 lead. The Hurricanes largely dominated this set by ending rallies early with kills. For the match, they totaled a season-high 51 kills. The early lead seemed insurmountable for Buchholz, but they came roaring back and cut the Hurricanes’ lead to one. Nevertheless, Meme Davis and Jasmine Ver Bust’s high-octane play silenced the home crowd. A service error ended the set in favor of the Hurricanes, by a score of 25-18 and a match score of 3-1.

The Hurricanes look to use this victory as a stepping stone to districts. They look ahead to a district matchup against Forest on Tuesday, September 13.