DOVER TOURNAMENT UP NEXT FOR BEARCAT VOLLEYBALL

Bearcat volleyball will be taking part in a tournament in Dover this weekend and will be in hopes of bouncing back from a rough start to the week.

Charleston 3 Bearcats 1

Already down a set, the Bearcats rallied from down 24-18 to win the second set 28-26 and twice opened four point leads in the third set before falling 25-20 and Charleston would close out the match in four sets.

After a service break when Charleston had a chance to close the second set, Anna Ferguson went to the service line and stayed there through a 25-24 Bearcat lead.

The series included a point after a key dig by Ferguson (shown) and a couple of Kaylee Ray kills.

After Charleston tied it at 25 the Tigers were again a point away from a set win after an ace, but a Vanessa O’Neal kill re-tied it and the Bearcats would win the next point as well.

Then with a chance to end the set O’Neal delivered an ace to do so.

In set three a five point early run included kills by Presley Walker and Brooklyn Phillips for a 6-3 lead.

Successive kills by Cameron Parish and Ray broke a tie at 7-7 and it was eventually 13-9 after a four point Bearcat run.

The Bearcats continued to lead until a seven point Charleston run got it to 24-19. A Parish kill delayed the set win for the Tigers.

Charleston scored the first six points of the fourth set and although the Bearcats got it back to as few as three Charleston then began to pull away. They led by as many as eight at 20-12, then nine at 22-13, then finished it with three straight points to win 25-14.

Ozark 3 Bearcats 0

Twice in the second set the Bearcats held a nine point advantage and the lead was still 22-17 after a free ball score but Ozark finished the game with an eight point run to go up by two sets.

The Bearcats had led most of the set going in front with a three point run to 3-1, 5-2 on a Kaylee Ray ace, 8-4 on an ace by Anna Ferguson, 13-7 in a three point run that included a Presley Walker push to a vacant part of the floor.

It was 16-8 after a pair of Emma Fox kills and a point on a return by Cameron Parish. It was 18-9 after a serve by Fox did not make its way back across the net and 19-10 after another Parish kill.

The Hillbillies started the third set with four straight points but it was a 12 point run that gave the visitors an insurmountable lead and a three set win.

Aside from a Vanessa O’Neal ace to start it, the Bearcats trailed the entire opening set but were within 21-20 before Ozark scored the final four points of the set.

Junior High

The Bearcats did pick up their first win of the season with a three set win over Ozark on Tuesday.