Middle Creek volleyball defeats Apex Friendship

Middle Creek’s push for a return to the volleyball playoffs starts with matches like Tuesday night at Apex Friendship. The Mustangs hope it’s a microcosm of the season – falling behind early, learning from mistakes and finishing strong.

Middle Creek defeated Friendship 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 18-25, 25-21).

MIDDLE CREEK

Middle Creek (4-4, 3-2) has been up and down in the early going of this volleyball season.

The Mustangs own victories over Millbrook, Athens Drive and Cary and the losses are to mostly top-of-the-area-rankings squads like No. 1 Broughton and top-10 Panther Creek and Leesville Road.

“When they are on, they are truly on. The chemistry between these 10 girls has been more so than what I’ve had in the past few years and it’s really fun to watch when they’re clicking,” Middle Creek coach Adrienne Core said. “But just as quick as it seems things are going well, it turns in the opposite direction. So we’ve got to work on are those low points for us, and sometimes serve-receive does that to us.”

The Mustangs tied for second in the Southwest Wake Athletic Conference in 2014 but missed the postseason altogether last year.

They have the pieces to get back to the postseason this year including setter Elise Herring and hitter Emily Durham.

“I hear the two of them saying after tonight’s match that they think this was one of their best sets together, so that’s encouraging,” Core said.

APEX FRIENDSHIP

The Patriots (0-7, 0-5) are a year wiser with a full junior class – still no seniors, of course. But sometimes twelfth-graders are needed to pull out wins in a sport that can be as tough mentally as volleyball.

Friendship has also taken a set off Cary, Heritage and Sanderson – all three have spent time in the N&O area rankings over the last two years – but came up short each time.

“We don’t have that senior leadership, and a lot of the time we dwell on the past. Today was the first time that we didn’t dwell on the past and we believe that we could in the present and looking at the team we have now and not last year,” Patriots coach Stephanie Fahrer said. “There was a lot more confidence.”

The brightest spot for Friendship this year may be its service game. The Patriots put pressure on Middle Creek’s serve-receive at times, particularly when Michaela Sullivan (four aces, 29 assists) served. Brenna Matthews had 30 digs and Logan Mignano posted a team-high seven kills.

“All the girls deserve credit,” Fahrer said. “They played their hearts out.”

GAME LOG

Before the match: Middle Creek middle blocker Brenna Harrison falls ill, can’t play.

First set: Apex Friendship jumps out to a 10-2 lead.

First set: Middle Creek rallies to take the set 25-21 thanks to improved defense and Friendship’s attacking errors (MID leads 1-0).

Second set: Middle Creek rolls to a 25-14 win (MID leads 2-0).

Third set: Friendship’s attack clicks in a 25-18 win (AFR down 2-1).

Fourth set: In a back-and-forth set, the Mustangs pull it out 25-21 (MID wins 3-1).

THEY SAID IT

“For the first time, we showed our potential as a team. I thought we played with a lot of heart. Even though it didn’t go how we wanted, I think overall, as a team, we showed a lot of growth in all aspects of the game,” Fahrer said.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Middle Creek volleyball defeats Apex Friendship."