Panther Creek comes back from 0-2 to oust Green Hope from volleyball playoffs
Call them the “Cardiac Catamounts.”
Panther Creek’s volleyball team is moving on to the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A playoffs after defeating Southwest Wake Athletic Conference rival Green Hope 3-2 on Tuesday night.
It was the second time in their last three games that the Catamounts (18-4) had to pull out a 3-2 victory with a lot on the line. Panther Creek won the SWAC title in its regular-season finale against Fuquay-Varina.
Against No. 22 seed Green Hope (14-8), the No. 6 Catamounts played for their lives. Panther Creek found itself down 0-2 going into the third set.
“I told them they have nothing to lose. They’ve already played their worst volleyball so all they could do is be aggressive going forward and it worked,” coach Holly Fong said.
Panther Creek quickly turned up the pressure on defense. Caitlyn Della and Kayla Spells registered a few big blocks early in the set number three and the Catamounts went on to score 11 straight points before a serve hit the net.
Green Hope got within five points (15-10) during the set, but the momentum was already in Panther Creek’s favor. The Falcons fell 25-16 in the third game.
“Right out of the gate, we had energy and we were pumped but I think we got a bit down in that third set,” Green Hope coach Karl Redelfs stated. “We were ready to take that fourth, but things happen.”
The Falcons did get off to a good start in the fourth set but things changed once senior Alexis Chaize went down with an ankle injury and did not return.
“When my setter went down, that hurt us pretty bad,” Redelfs added.
Panther Creek eventually took a 15-14 lead and turned that into a 25-18 win in set No. 4.
The fifth set turned out to be one for the ages.
Green Hope had a 5-1 lead, but Panther Creek scored 6 straight to go up 7-5.
The Falcons then took an 11-9 lead before the game was locked at a 14-14 tie.
The Catamounts went ahead after a Green Hope kill landed out of bounds. The game winning point was awarded to Panther Creek after the referee penalized the Falcons for hitting the ball four times.
Panther Creek will host New Bern on Thursday night at 6 p.m. in the third round. Before this season, Panther Creek had never gone past the first round.
This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 11:15 PM with the headline "Panther Creek comes back from 0-2 to oust Green Hope from volleyball playoffs."