The Scottsbluff Bearcats fought their way to a win over the Bridgeport Bulldogs in five sets for their final home game. It also happened to be parents night.
The match scores were 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 18-25 and 15-8.
“It was good that we could recognize both the seniors and the parents and but anytime you have a parents’ night, I think it kind of takes focus away. So I knew it was going to be a little iffy going into it,” Scottsbluff head coach Leslie Foral said. “But I thought the girls handled it well.”
The Cats managed to get the night started off right, not letting the Bulldogs take the lead the entire first set. Scottsbluff’s Quincy Johnson finished the set off with a kill from the right side.
But the Bulldogs, who closed a 21-15 deficit to lose by just four points in the first set, weren’t letting the Cats off that easily. Bridgeport battled back to take the lead in the second set 10-8 after a four-point rally capped with an ace serve from Bridgeport’s Alexis Vergil.
Scottsbluff’s Emma Foote tried to reel in the Bulldog’s rally with a line shot from the left side to close Bridgeport’s lead to just one point at 12-11, but despite tying the set up multiple times, Scottsbluff couldn’t push past the Bulldog’s momentum and lost the second set 25-19.
The momentum continued for Bridgeport as Scottsbluff started of the third set with back to back errors, going 0-3 from the beginning. A kill from Foote eventually ties the third set up at 11, finally giving Scottsbluff the momentum it needed to get back in the game. A close battle back and forth between the teams took place until Scottsbluff began to pull away on a 4-0 run to make the score 19-15. They went on to win the third set 25-19.
That didn’t stop Bridgeport’s Brooklyn Mohrman, who sent an Ace serve to the Cats to take the lead early in the game 8-5. Scottsbluff came back with a 4-0 run to steal the lead at 13-11. Still, it wasn’t enough to stop the Bulldogs’ scrappy defense, which brought them the 25-18 win in the fourth set.
The gym grew loud as fans from both teams chanted cheers as they waited for the final set. Scottsbluff took the momentum right away, leading Bridgeport 9-3 before finally turning the serve over to the Bulldogs. Multiple shank passes and other errors from Bridgeport finally gave the win to the Bearcats, ending the final set with a net serve.
Coach Leslie Foral said she was proud of how her team handled the challenges the five-set game presented.
“We’re still trying to work through some things and kind of figure some stuff out just as a team. And so I knew everything wasn’t going to be perfect,” she said. “But I was really impressed with the girls…I think tonight even we had four different lineup changes. And the growth—they’re just taking everything in stride, and I think they’re handling it really well.”
The Bearcats will be in action next on Saturday, Oct. 10 at their home tournament.
*Originally published in the Star-Herald on Oct. 6, 2020.
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