The Bronchos may have come out bucking for a 15-9 win in the first round on Monday, but the Wildcats bit back to win the night 15-13 and 15-6.
After a difficult first round, Coach Kristi McDevitt said the varsity volleyball team just needed to slow things down, regroup, take a breather and then get the momentum going again.
“We just had some difficult points in that first game and needed to regroup,” she stated.
By the second game though, the Wildcat Ladies were hot.
“The best play of the night was when Shana Jones blocked their huge middle hitter’s back hit,” said McDevitt. “That was their best player and she’d been slamming us from the back row all night, and to see Shana block that hit, it was great.”
Leading Oxford for the night was team captain Brandi Parker with 12 kills, 22 assists, nine service points and two aces. Team captain Lindsey Tarrant followed closely behind with 15 kills and Jessica Anhel added her strength with 16 service points and one ace.
“I didn’t want to lose against Holly that night,” said McDevitt. “The ladies knew how to pull this one through.”
Oxford split earlier in the week with a Jan. 8 win against Fenton, and a devastating loss at the Blue Water Tournament in Port Huron.
At the Jan. 10 20-team tournament, the Lady Cats were missing a key player and just couldn’t pull out of the opening round. McDevitt said the girls played four games and went 0-1-3.
Stepping up for Oxford through the day though was Anhel with 11 kills Shannon Gerbe with 40 assists and Parker with 26 kills.
The loss was a tough one after proving themselves with a defeat against the powerful Fenton Tigers on Thursday. Oxford won 15-7 and 15-8, with Fenton winning the middle game 15-7.
“Fenton was picked to win the FML,” said McDevitt, “so coming into it I was a little nervous, but we proved we could do it.”
“The first game we came out killing them,” she added. “But in the second we made a lot of mistakes and just couldn’t seem to regroup.”
Teresa Miner was the highlight player for the night with nine kills, 10 service points and three aces. Team Captain Gerbe added her own 15 assists, nine service points and two aces.
“I was really excited because the girls ran a couple quick sets on their own without any prompting from any of the coaches,” said McDevitt. “A couple of times Shannon and Brandi hooked up… Fenton runs quick sets, but I don’t they were expecting them from Oxford.”
The Lady Cats stand 12-3-3 overall and 3-0 in the FML as they prepare to defend their perfect league record against Linden on Jan. 15.
“I’m expecting the girls to do well,” said McDevitt, “but we’re not taking any team for granted.”