Corinth Holders captures Two Rivers 3A Conference volleyball title

The race for the regular season volleyball title in the Two Rivers 3A Conference came down to the final day of the regular season and pitted two Johnston county rivals against one another who both had been knocking on the door of a championship the past couple years.

With perennial power Erwin Triton out of the way and relegated to a third place finish, Corinth Holders defeated Cleveland in four sets (25-18, 25-19, 15-25, 27-25) Thursday night to capture its first Two Rivers title.

Holly Stancil and Jamie Turner paced the Pirates attack but it took a complete team effort for Corinth Holders (13-8, 8-2) to win its ninth match in 11 tries after a frustrating 4-6 start to the season.

“The most satisfying part of this is that the girls have maintained a level of consistency through the conference play even through some losses,” Corinth Holders coach Charles Riley said. “Even when we were down and we were on the ropes, we found a way to get it done.

“This is a step in the right direction for our program.”

The Pirates took the first two games thanks to a dominant performance in the frontline from Ali Blanco and Katelynn Leach who turned away many of the Rams’ attacks.

In the two teams’ first meeting, Cleveland dropped the opening game only to win the next three to take the match. This time around, after the Rams won the third game, Cleveland (18-3, 7-3) looked to be on the verge of forcing a fifth and deciding game up 23-18.

However, Stancil’s 15th kill of the night turned the tide and the Pirates staved off two game points before Megan Philipson ended the match with a well-placed serve that resulted in her fourth ace of the night.

Corinth Holders registered nine of the last 11 points of the game.

“You’ve got to play together; you work the whole season on playing together and you go in there and don’t play together, then you’re not going to win,” Cleveland coach Shelley Johnston said. “They are a fantastic team and they outplayed us; they deserved it.”

They said it

“It definitely feels great,” said the Pirates’ Katelynn Leach. “We just worked really hard and we deserved it. In the end we just came out on top.”

Three who mattered

Katelynn Leach, Corinth Holders: The senior middle hitter had five kills but it was her seven blocks and intimidating presence at the net that helped to take Cleveland out of its offense during long stretches.

Taylor Thomas, Cleveland: Thomas was the most consistent hitter of the night for the Rams as she led her team with 11 kills.

Megan Philipson, Corinth Holders: The libero was crucial to the Pirates success throughout the course of the match. It was her service run that included three aces that staked Corinth Holders to a big lead in the opening game and she went 37 of 40 in successfully receiving Cleveland serves which allowed the Pirates to more easily get into their offense.

By the numbers

12: Kills the Pirates’ Jamie Turner supplied for the match.

9: Number of consecutive wins reeled off by Cleveland entering the contest.

34: Assists offered up by Cleveland’s Jenna Myer.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Corinth Holders captures Two Rivers 3A Conference volleyball title."