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WH Heritage dispatches Greenbrier in straight sets




White House Heritage senior Sonya Banker (center) celebrates with teammates after a point.RUSSELL VANNOZZI

White House Heritage senior Sonya Banker (center) celebrates with teammates after a point.RUSSELL VANNOZZI

White House Heritage volleyball coach Brandon Niblock made perfect use of his timeouts Tuesday night at Greenbrier.

The Lady Patriots took the first set 25-17, but when his team slipped and Greenbrier took leads in the second and third sets, Niblock hit the reset button.

The strategy worked.

Heritage (5-4) regained its footing to take a 3-0 match victory over the Lady Bobcats.

“There’s no magic to it,” he said. “It just slows the game down and gives the kids a chance to reset. I looked like a timeout genius the last two sets, but that’s not how it normally works.”

Heritage responded well after both timeouts. After falling behind 16-13 in the second set, the Lady Patriots overcame a few serving errors to take a 25-21 victory.

The Lady Bobcats went on a run to open the third set and took a 13-10 lead. That’s when Niblock called another timeout. From there, Heritage reeled off five straight points and eventually took the third set 25-16.

Heritage’s MC Abell tries to block a shot from Greenbrier’s Laura Gibson.RUSSELL VANNOZZI

Heritage’s MC Abell tries to block a shot from Greenbrier’s Laura Gibson.RUSSELL VANNOZZI

Heritage junior Ashleigh Shores led the way with 14 kills. Senior Olivia Risden had six, Sonya Banker had five, and MacKenzie Geer, MC Abell and Chloe Pentecost each finished with four.

Geer had five aces and eight digs. Teammate Hannah Myers also had eight digs.

The Lady Patriots defeated Alcoa, Carter and Corbin (Ky.) in the Showdown at the Sunsphere tournament in Knoxville last weekend. Heritage finished the tournament 3-2 and made progress in figuring out its player rotation, even if more adjustments are still needed.

“We found a rotation that we think we’re going to stick with,” Niblock said. “We missed a lot of serves in the second set (Tuesday), and we started off the third set the same way. We can stomach hitting errors. But we can’t be a team that misses a serve – that was frustrating for us.”

Greenbrier middle hitter Snowden Scott went down with an apparent ankle injury in the second set and did not return. After Scott exited, the Lady Bobcats stumbled in the second and third sets.

Greenbrier celebrates scoring a point against Heritage Tuesday night. RUSSELL VANNOZZI

Greenbrier celebrates scoring a point against Heritage Tuesday night. RUSSELL VANNOZZI

“(Scott) getting injured changed the game,” Greenbrier coach Kayla Grogan said. “We think she has a sprain. Heritage is a good team. We’ve got to be scrappier, and (the team) knows that.”

Niblock said he was pleased to get the win, but he also knows his team has improvements to make, including in the passing and serving departments.

“We’re going to get better, we need to get better,” Niblock said. “Anytime you come to Greenbrier and get a win, that’s a big deal. (But) this stuff is not going to work against bigger opponents.”

Heritage’s MC Abell (5) and Chloe Pentecost (18) block a shot from Greenbrier’s Katie Clinard.RUSSELL VANNOZZI

Heritage’s MC Abell (5) and Chloe Pentecost (18) block a shot from Greenbrier’s Katie Clinard.RUSSELL VANNOZZI

Greenbrier’s Lizzie Dalton (12) and Caroline Dalton (3) attempt to block Heritage’s Chloe Pentecost (18).RUSSELL VANNOZZI

Greenbrier’s Lizzie Dalton (12) and Caroline Dalton (3) attempt to block Heritage’s Chloe Pentecost (18).RUSSELL VANNOZZI

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