West Henderson holds off SM spikers

"We played much better against West than we did in either scrimmage," Coach Cindi Simmons said. "We had opportunities in the first and third games. Our blockers stepped up. We played hard and with a lot of intensity."

Four points, including an ace, from Melissa Collins, put the Lady Mustangs up 4-2 in game one.

Their last lead was 10-8 following three points by Kaitlin Ritchie. The Lady Falcons went on a 7-1 spurt the rest of the game.

West jumped in front 6-1 in the second game and never looked back. SM closed within 10-7 after two points, including an ace, by Amber Stephens, but failed to score again.

Three points from Collins and Ritchie's block staked the Lady Mustangs to a 3-0 edge in game three. They led 5-4 after two points from Amanda Magruder, but five straight points put the Lady Falcons ahead to stay. Four points, including an ace, by Abbey Higgins and consecutive blocks by Lindsey Lewis cut the gap to 14-10. SM held off three match points before West clinched the victory.

Ritchie recorded nine kills and four blocks. Lewis had five kills and five blocks. Collins provided 11 assists.

Tara Green handled 16 of 20 passes. Magruder was good on 10 of 12 serve receptions.

Collins led in service points with nine. Higgins and Green were perfect on nine and eight serves, respectively. Magruder served 90 percent. Team serving was 87.7 percent.

West Henderson won the JV match 15-7, 15-8.

"We showed improvement from our first game," Coach Nikki Young said. "We got a few more players in. Our passing was better."

Back to Sports: 08/24/00.