Cougars pay back Riverheads

GREENVILLE – Stuarts Draft came back to upset Riverheads winning in five games 18-25, 27-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-11 on Tuesday.

Riverheads controlled most of the action throughout the match, but Draft came back in the final game to take it all.

“You’re never out of it until the end,” said Stuarts Draft coach Kami Meeteer.

The Gladiators roared to victory in Games 1 and 3 thanks to kills from Tiffany Flesher and Kacey Hostetler. Riverheads dominated at the net, putting a stop to hard spikes from Draft’s Kamron Johnson.

Games 2 and 4 saw the Cougars take to victory, but not easy ones. The Gladiators answered the call, returning every ball hit at them. Wide kills from Draft’s Aliya Stevenson eventually did Riverheads in.

“You have to control the point at each play,” Meeteer said.

Game 5 started in Riverheads’ favor. Up 8-2, the Gladiators continued to clobber the pack of Cougars with trick sets, Draft’s numerous errors helped aid Riverheads’ lead. The Cougars started to work their way back with a kill from Callie Updike and a wide shot from the Gladiators. A block from Riverheads’ Kelsie Floyd and Flesher put the score at 11-8. Now it was the Cougars’ Johnson’s turn to step up.

Johnson sent one screaming down the middle off a set from Erin Brown to put the score at 11-9, which wasn’t the last that Riverheads was going to see of Johnson. The next ball was tipped out of bounds off of the Gladiators, putting Brown at the service line.

“My girls were quite confident at the end,” Meeteer said. “They made the right plays at the right time, which is what they needed to do.”

Another kill from Johnson and the Cougars were behind by one, forcing the Gladiators to call a timeout.

“Our passes were going right to Johnson,” said Riverheads coach Whitney Dove. “You’ve got to be in it mentally all of the time, cause once you let up they’re going to get you.”

Three more consecutive kills from Johnson and an ace from Brown ended it.

“It’s always hard to come back, especially at the end,” Meeteer said.

Riverheads’ Flesher had five kills, eight service points and six blocks, while Kristen Moody had eight service points, 12 digs, and four blocks.

Draft’s Johnson had 12 kills and three blocks while Stevenson had nine kills and one block, and Brown had 32 assists.

Riverheads (6-3) faces Parry McClure on Thursday while Stuarts Draft (5-4, 2-0) heads to Fort Defiance the same day.