The Wiregrass Girl’s Volleyball team rallied back to beat the Springstead Eagles 3-2 on Thursday night. The set scores were 22-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-15, 15-10. This was the first matchup between the Bulls and Eagles since 2008, bringing the Bulls all-time record against the Eagles to 3-2. The Bulls are now 10-6 in the season.

Both teams were coming off victories in previous matchups, the Bulls in a 3-0 win against Freedom, and the Eagles with a victory over Crystal River 3-2.

Springstead won the first two sets, but they were very close in score. A number of serving errors and communication problems hindered the Bulls from being in the lead through most of the first set. The Bulls managed to take the lead towards the end of the set 22-20, but another serving error caused a loss in momentum, and the Eagles regained the lead and finished the set 25-22.

Aces by sophomore Alexis Driggers, senior Emilee Adams, and senior Jaizah Anderson were key to the Bulls going up 20-13 in the 2nd set. As the Eagles battled through the deficit, a key ace by Springstead sparked a comeback, amounted with Bulls errors, to give the Eagles a set win of 25-23, going up 2-0 in the match.

After the 2-0 start going into the 3rd set, Coach Robin Holowiak focused on rallying the Lady Bulls in the huddle to keep their heads high.

“I told them short and sweet, that they needed to work together and get some pride to get the job done,” Holowiak said.

While it looked like the match was going to be won 3-0 by Springstead with the Bulls down 4-9, kills brought them back in the game. Two consecutive kills by junior Amiyah Martin brought the score to 8-9, while she continued her great performance with 2 kills later in the set.

“It was very important for me to focus and step up as we were down 2 sets on our own court so to get to every ball and kill was crucial for our comeback,” Martin said.

The attacking fever was evident for a number of Bulls as freshmen Kayla Baer and sophomore Zoi Evans added kills, while Driggers finished the much needed set 25-15. The Bull went on a run at the end of the set as they scored the last 11 of 13 points.

The Bulls continued their dominance in the 4th set as they went up 10-9 mid-set and never looked back. Anderson showed a clutch performance, as she had 4 consecutive spikes to put the Bulls up 13-9.

When asked what was going through her mind, Anderson explained her execution.

“I was searching for an area that was open on the court [for the kill],” Anderson said.

Kills by Martin and Evans put the set out of reach for Springstead. The 4th set ended with a hit of the net, making the final score 25-15 again, tying up the match score 2-2.

With a shortened set of 15 for the 5th set, the Bulls had all the momentum of the comeback in them. A crucial dig by Adams followed up by a kill from Anderson put the Bulls up 2-1 at the beginning of the set. As the set intensified, both teams defended the ball well and kept it in play. The set ended with a hitting error by the Eagles giving the Bulls the 15-10 set win, and 3-2 match win.

This game gives the Wiregrass Bulls record of 10-6, while the Springstead Eagles go to 6-9 on the year. The Bulls next game is a home matchup against a tough 10-7 Land O’ Lakes Gator’s team on Wednesday, October 3rd, commemorating seniors Alexis Pryor, Emilee Adams, and Jaizah Anderson.