FLATONIA — The Flatonia High School volleyball team went five sets with Gon zales High School and were victorious September 16 at Bulldogs Gym by a final score of 25-16, 27-25, 22-25, 23-25, 15-13. After the Lady Bull dogs went up two sets to zero, Gonzales stormed back and won the next two sets, but Flatonia was able to edge it out in the fifth set in what was a back and forth nail biter.
“Continuing to work together,” said Flatonia head volleyball coach Lauren Hoffman on what she was telling her team throughout the game.
"Give energy to the girls on the court, whether they’re on the bench or on the court next to the girls that are struggling with putting balls away. Making good passes and making sure that we’re lifting each other up.”
Lady Bulldogs outside hitter Katelin Sullivan hit the ball hard for the entire game and came up with some clutch kills, totaling 26 kills for the game.
“We did it last week too on Friday, so we've definitely gone through the struggles this season,” Sullivan said on the five-set match. "Honestly, fifth set, I knew I had to put the ball down and we have to work together as a team to get the ball up, so it’s not just me on the court. Everybody has to work together.”
Flatonia took a 9-1 lead in the first set on a couple kills and a tip ball from Summer Sodek, a kill from Sullivan, and a few mistakes from Gonzales. The Lady Apaches then went on a kill spree of their own and made it 11-7, which was followed by Flatonia holding their steady lead with a bunch more kills and a set-winning kill from Sullivan to win it 25-16.
Gonzales jumped out to a big lead in the second set at
5-1 and kept a similar lead to what Flatonia had in the first
set before Flatonia stormed back from a 17-12 deficit and tied the set at 19 on an ace from Sodek. Both teams went back and forth throughout the remainder of the set as it went to extra points with each team trading kills, then a tip ball from Sodek and another set-winner from Sullivan won it for the Lady Bulldogs 27-25.
Flatonia had a lead as big
as 15-11 in the third set after a ball out of bounds from Gon - zales. An ace from Gonzales, a ball out of bounds from Flatonia, and a kill from the Lady Apaches made it 16-16, forcing Flatonia to call a timeout. Another ball out of bounds from Flatonia and a ball in the net made it 20-17, which led to a kill and an ace from Gonzales to win the set 25-22.
The two teams traded punches for the majority of the fourth set as the biggest lead Gonzales had was at 20-16 after an ace. Even though Sullivan made two big kills down the stretch and Sodek added another tip ball, Gonzales was able to seal it with a kill to win it 25-23.
After going back and forth again early in the fifth and final set, Flatonia was able to gain some wiggle room after two balls in the net in a row from Gonzales to make it 9-5. Fla tonia made some mistakes of their own and the Lady Apaches brought it to within one after a serve in the net from Flato- nia, a kill from Gonzales, and a ball out of bounds from the Lady Bulldogs put the score- board at 12-11. Flatonia was able to squeeze by with a late tip ball from Sodek and a match-winning kill from Sulli- van at 15-13.
Flatonia’s Eliana Herrera, 6, serves up a ball to Gonzales. Banner Press photo by Brian Pierson
