The Stephen-Argyle Storm won every odd-numbered set to take down the Goodridge Grygla Chargers in 5 sets by a score of 26-24, 14-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-11, allowing them to move on in the Section 8A Tournament.
FIRST SET
The first set began with the Storm scoring 4 of the first 5 points, with 2 of them being Ayla Woinarowicz blocks, but the Chargers responded by scoring 5 in a row to take a 6-4 lead. From there, the two teams alternated points until a Madison Woonarowicz ace capped off a 3-0 run to make it 13-12. After that, neither team had a lead larger than one until a 4-0 run by the Chargers, putting them up 20-17. The lead stayed at 3 until 23-20, where Stephen-Argyle went on a 6-1 run to end the set, taking it 26-24.
SECOND SET
In the second set, Goodridge-Grygla bounced back and upped their performance. After the teams alternated the first 6 points, the Chargers began to pull away, and put together a sudden 11-3 run to take a 14-6 lead, primarily capitalizing on Storm errors. The Storm looked to bounce back with kills from Emily Marquis, but the offense was too much in this set. The largest Charger lead in this set was 12, as they took a 23-11 lead. The Storm went on a mini run at the end of the set, but the Chargers held on to take the second set 25-14, tying the match at a set apiece.
THIRD SET
The Chargers looked to to continue the positive momentum in the 3rd set, but after taking a 4-1 lead, the Storm went on their best run of the match, going on a 7-0 run to take an 8-4 lead. The Chargers would bounce back, however, and immediately tie the match at 8. From there, both teams brought back the trend of alternating points, all the way up until 13-11 Chargers, before a Tessa Kroll kill sparked a 5-0 run to put the Storm up 16-13. The Chargers clawed back with a 6-2 run to take a 19-18 lead, but the set of runs ended in the Storm’s favor, as they ended on a 7-3 run to win the 3rd set 25-22, taking a 2 sets to 1 lead.
FOURTH SET
The 4th set, unfortunately for the Storm, was a virtual carbon copy of set 2, which was played after they won a set, but was significantly more lopsided towards the Chargers. They took a quick 6-3 lead, and then a Torii Anderson kill made it 10-4. Things got worse before they got better for the Storm, as the serve-receive began to let them down, and the Chargers recorded 3 aces in their final 9 points. The Chargers cruised to a 25-14 win in set 4, forcing a decisive 5th set.
FIFTH SET
In the 5th set, Goodridge-Grygla scored first, and went out to an early 3-0 lead. In each of the first four sets, the team that scored first won the set, but the Storm were very quick to rebound, as Ayla Woinarowicz got more involved on offense. The Storm quickly surged ahead to take a 5-4 lead, and then an Alexis Labine ace capped off a mini run to put the Storm up 8-4. The Chargers never got closer than 3 points behind for the remainder of the set, and Stephen-Argyle took the final set 15-11, winning this play-in match in 5 sets.
Stephen-Argyle improves to 8-13 on the season and will play Sacred Heart in the Section 8A first round on Wednesday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Stephen-Argyle | 26 | 14 | 25 | 14 | 15 |
| Goodridge-Grygla | 24 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 11 |
For Stephen-Argyle
Kills – Emily Marquis 13, Tessa Kroll 8
Blocks – Ayla Woinarowicz 7
Digs – Mahren Gjovic 29, Jocelyn Groven 19
Assists – Alexis Labine 16, Emily Marquis 15
Aces – Alexis Labine 3
