GUYTON, Ga. – Momentum can go a long way in volleyball.
South Effingham took advantage of a shift in momentum to pull away from rival Effingham County and rode another surge to play a very competitive second set against undefeated Savannah Christian on Tuesday night.
The second set with the Raiders left Mustangs coach Haywood Ellison optimistic about his team with about a month left in the regular season. Before the matches, South was ranked 10th in the Class 6A postseason rankings.
“They’ve been fighting all season, that’s been our calling card,” Ellison said. “(Savannah Christian) is one of the better teams we’ll see all season. If we compete like that, we can do something special.”
South (15-6, 5-0 Region 1-6A) defeated the Rebels 2-0 (25-18, 25-17) and lost to Class A-AA top-ranked Savannah Christian 2-0 (25-14, 28-26).
Effingham County dropped to 9-14 (2-3 Region 1-6A) after falling to Savannah Christian 2-0 (25-12, 25-13) in its second match of the day.
South gains momentum
The county matchup started well for the Rebels, who scored the first four points against the Mustangs and led 17-16 after Eisley Milner’s block.
But Morgan Stringer’s kill (to make it 17-17, the ninth tie of the set) and two aces began a 9-1 Mustang run to finish the set.
In the second set, middle blocker Shayla Ramsey had two blocks, two kills and three aces as South built an 11-3 lead. The Mustangs had their biggest lead, 11 at 19-8, after another Ramsey kill.
Ramsey replaced graduated Class 5A Co-player of the Year Clara Vorel (now at Towson) in South’s starting lineup.
“Obviously, we miss Clara a lot. I just want to keep her legacy going,” said Ramsey, who played club volleyball with several Savannah Christian players on the Savannah Elite.
Stringer finished with 10 kills in the match. Ka’Meil Bates led the Rebels with four kills.
ECHS faces Savannah Christian
ECHS never led against Savannah Christian (15-0). The Raiders had a 7-0 run to break open an 8-7 advantage in the first set and finished out the second set with a 14-5 run.
Jordyn Powell had four kills in the second set for the Rebels.
“As a team, we’re struggling with a winning mentality,” ECHS coach Brittany Lein said. “They’re struggling with putting in the effort and going after that ball. We’ve had those conversations but we’re not there yet.”
South pushes back
In the first set, South didn’t look competitive with hard-hitting, fast-paced Savannah Christian. The Raiders, who jumped out to a 9-3 lead, needed just 19 minutes to complete the first set.
The Mustangs trailed 6-2 in the second set, but posted a furious rally against a squad that hasn’t lost a set this season. Fueled by four Stringer kills, South fought back to tie the match at 8-8 and neither team had more than a two-point advantage the rest of the way.
Karys Arnold’s kill and Rowan Long’s block highlighted a 5-1 burst that gave the Mustangs a 23-21. South had set points at 24-23 and 25-24. Long’s kill evened the set 26-26, the 12th tie of the set, but Savannah Christian responded last.
Stringer finished with seven kills and Arnold added six.
“I think this is a confidence builder. We had our chances,” Ellison said. “It took us a while to get started but we fought back and saw some things open up. If we could have gotten a few more balls down, we could have won the second set. And anything can happen in a third set. We already showed we could get to 15 first (after leading 15-13 in the second set).”
