7th/8th graders pull out nail-biter in straight sets

The 7th/8th grade girls left their last two games disappointed, knowing that they should've and could've came away with victories.

Tonight, there was no wishful thinking, and they just did it.

The girls put together a solid first set, and came from behind in the second set for a straight set victory to climb back to .500 on the year.

Cynthia extended the girls' lead in the first set and closed it out with some strong serves, giving set number one to the 7th/8th graders 25-18.

They fell behind 5-0 in the second set, but rebounded nicely to keep the set within reach.

Tamia was the star of the game as she spiked the ball over hand on several occasions throughout the night, including one sequence where she batted three straight balls back towards the other team to earn a point.

Both teams went back and forth, until late in the set when the 7th/8th grade girls fell behind 22-20.

However, they turned it on when they need to and even paced themselves out to a 24-23 lead.

But the other team was resilient returning some balls that were very difficult, and it had the feeling like this set was going to go quite a while.

Tied at 25-25, Tamia once again hit a ball over the net that nobody on the other team could get to, setting up match point.

Following a few rallies, Cynthia bumped a ball to the backrow that the other team could not handle, and the game was over.

The girls won the second set 27-25.

Dressing only seven girls tonight, the girls played one of their better games of the season. There were the handful of head shakers including some poor serves early on and in the middle of the second, but there play otherwise made up for some of their faults.

Pamela had the best game of the year and made quite a few nice jumping overhand serves.

The most experienced player on the court, Cynthia, made the big plays when it mattered. Her serves catapulted them to victory in set one and then down the stretch, her returns were just what the team needed.

One of the best things all night was to see the girls starting to come together as a team, as they even had their own cheer for aces, and the continuous slapping of high fives after points.

Midway through the year, their team chemistry is building, setting them up for a good stretch run.

For the second straight week, the referee reminded the girls on some basic volleyball etiquette and said, "You're in 8th grade, you should know this by now."

So it looks like the way they play and compete has the ref and everybody else fooled, even though most of the girls just finished playing the fourth game of their careers.