Riverheads sweeps Gap

SWOOPE – Riverheads, already named Shenandoah District champs, finished off the regular season with a solid win against Buffalo Gap 25-22, 25-14, 25-22 on Thursday, now keeping its record undefeated in the district.

Though the Gladiators swept the Bison in three games, it wasn’t an easily earned victory. This being the Gladiators’ third match in a row, the intensity level wasn’t where coach Whitney Dove wanted it to be.

“This was our third game in a row this week,” said Dove. “That wasn’t how I expected to go out. I expected to see a lot more intensity and fight from the girls, but after three games I’m sure they’re worn out.”

Game 1 started out slow for Riverheads with the score seesawing until the teams tied at seven, that being Riverheads’ breaking point. The Gladiators took off with the lead from there with kills coming from Kristen Moody and Tiffany Flesher. Riverheads gained even more of an advantage over Gap with unearned points, many of Gaps shots going either wide or into the net.

With the Gladiators leading 19-13, the Bison started to climb their way back to the top. Three back-to-back wide shots coming from Riverheads followed by an ace from Gap’s Emma Doyle plus a kill from Natalie Smith put the Bison behind by just one point. A long serve from Gap gave Riverheads a 20-18 lead, but an unanswered pass on Riverheads’ side put Gap behind by one again. Another long serve from the Bison put the Gladiators up 21-19, but two mistakes from the Gladiators tied the game again, this time at 21. A block from Riverheads’ Flesher followed up by a long hit kept the game tied, at 22. A tip from the Gladiators’ Kelsie Floyd, a wide shot from Gap, and an ace from Taylor Blackwell-Kershner finished the game for the Gladiators.

“They made some mistakes and got down on themselves,” said Buffalo Gap coach Kacey Bunch. “It took them a little while to get over their mistakes, but eventually they got back up.”

Riverheads moved on into Game 2 and kept control of the lead throughout the game. The Gladiators only allowed two kills from the Bison, but numerous Bison mistakes played in favor for the Gladiators who only earned three kills and two aces themselves in Game 2. 

“Riverheads is much more experienced than we are,” Bunch said. “I mean we only have two juniors and the rest are all sophomores.”

Game 3 was a battle more so then the rest of them, with the Gladiator fans getting restless in the stands. A hard kill from Kayla Baugh combined with a shot into the net from Gap started the Gladiators off on a good note. Before anyone had time to blink though, the Bison were in the lead and holding their own thanks to five bad shots from the Gladiators. Riverheads was able to bounce back starting with an ace from Floyd and eventually took the lead after a tie at nine, most of the points being unearned for both sides. The score again was tied at 17, but Riverheads took off with a tip from Kasey Hostetler and a kill from Moody, plus a net shot from Gap, giving the Gladiators a 20-18 lead. More bad shots from Gap put the score at 24-19, but three back-to-back bad shots from Riverheads only kept them ahead by two. One final hit into the net from the Bison eventually ended the game.

“After a weekend of rest, they’re intensity should be back up,” Dove said. “Next week with the different atmosphere, they’ve never played at EMU before, plus they have more on the line, they’re intensity should kick up”

Riverheads has a first-round bye in the tournament.

The Gladiators also won in JV action, 25-9, 25-14, with Morgan Lotts leading the way with 14 service points.