The Oxford varsity girls volleyball team is still undefeated in the Flint Metro League after their match-up with rival Lapeer West last Thursday,
Last season, the girls went 0-3 against the Panthers, and their five-game set on Thursday proved they were determined to win.
Oxford came out strong, but lost momentum quickly with bad decisions on their side of the net. They lost the first game of the match 23-25 and were again defeated 19-25 in the second game.
‘Finding ourselves down 0-2 in the best of five format, we re-grouped before the third game and changed some rotations around to try and mix things up and give ourselves a chance,? Coach Kristi McDevitt said.
That seemed to be the change the team needed, because the girls came back strong in their offense in the third game, beating the Panthers 25-16.
Oxford won the fourth game 25-23, which forced a fifth game to decide the win. Senior captain Liz Hazelwood served five straight points to tie the game, 5-5.
After numerous volleys and Oxford down 11-10, it was senior libero Amanda Jolly who earned the team five more points to win the match.
Hazelwood tallied 16 kills, 44 assists and four aces that night, while senior captain Kaitlin DuCharme and junior Karlyn Stroope finished with 14 kills each.
Sophomore Brittany Moncrieff had 11 kills, while defensively, Jolly had 21 digs, Moncrieff had 20 and Hazelwood had 15.
‘I am really proud of the way we handled the game,? McDevitt said. ‘Although we didn’t make it easy on ourselves the first couple of games, we didn’t just roll over and let them run away with the win.?
Oxford remains undefeated in the FML at 3-0 and 14-5-2 overall. The Wildcats travel to Fenton on Thursday night to take on the Tigers who are also undefeated in the league.