FAIRLEA- The fourth-seeded Greenbrier East Lady Spartans volleyball team defeated Capital, the 5-seed, on Tuesday night at the Spartan Gym in Fairlea in impressive fashion, winning 3-1 in the first round of the regional tournament.
East won the first set (25-21), the third set (25-22), and capped it off with a victory in the fourth (25-13) when Emma Dauwel tapped the ball over the net in between two Capital players for the final point of the night.
Spartan coach Dawn McClure thought once her team settled in, they just played their game.
“We had to shake off some nerves but overall, they played well,” McClure said.
The crowd on hand was very engaged in the match on both sides whether it was the Capital fans upset with the SSAC officiating crew or the East fans screaming and urging the girls on and McClure thought the Greenbrier East side played a big part in the contest.
“Honestly, having home court advantage and the energy from the fans definitely played a role,” the coach said.
“The first three sets could’ve gone either way but having that noise in our favor kept our momentum strong.”
Capital won the second set before East (20-18-5) squeaked out a close win in the third, but the fourth set was a dominant performance by the Spartans, and it was a couple plays that turned the tide and sent the Cougars back home.
“I think having consecutive big plays just gave them the edge to pull away in the last set,” McClure said of her team.
Greenbrier East will now move on and travel to face #1-seed Herbert Hoover (50-8-1), one of the top teams in the state regardless of class, on Thursday night, October 30 at 6:30. The Lady Spartans lost to the Huskies twice this season, 2-0 on Oct. 7 and 2-1 on Oct. 18.
