If the Johnson's Lady Truckers go on to lose Game Five of the New Providence Volleyball Association (NPVA) women's championship, they would probably look at the third set of Game Four as the one which really got away. Up 24-19, they blew five set points to the defending champions, and went on to lose the match in five sets, 25-16, 23-25, 28-26, 25-13 and 15-11, on Sunday at the D.W. Davis Gym.
With the win, the seven-time champions Scottsdale Vixens forced a decisive Game Five, set to be played Wednesday night. After blowing those five set points in the third, many expected the Lady Truckers to fall apart but they came out with fire in their eyes and completely overwhelmed the Vixens in the fourth set. They seemed to run out of gas in the fifth and decisive set though.
"We knew that it was going to be a battle but Vixens never die," said Vixens' Head Coach Joe Smith yesterday. "Hats off to the Truckers. They came out and played a great match today, but Vixens for life. We definitely coming to win on Wednesday." Smith admitted that the third set was really the turning point in the match yesterday.
His girls had a 14-12 advantage midway through the set, but the Truckers came alive behind power hitters Melinda Bastian and Kelsie Johnson, who was strong at the net, and Tia Charlow, who scored some key points from the outside. "Up until that point (24-19 in the third), we weren't playing good defense. I just told the girls that they have to leave it all out on the court," said Smith. "That was a pivotal set because the match was tied 1-1, and in situations like that, I feel like whoever wins the third set almost always come out on top.
The girls woke up at exactly the right time and took the third set. We fell apart in the fourth set; they stopped passing, but we got it together in the fifth set and pulled it off." The Vixens showed the true heart of a champion at the end of the third set, and again in the fifth set. Sisters Krystel and Cheryse Rolle, along with Tamasine Emmanuel, responded when their team needed them the most.
Down 24-19, it was on Krystel's serve when the Vixens scored five straight points to even the set at 24 apiece. One of those serves was an ace right down the middle at 24-22. Cheryse got a couple of key kills in that rally, and Emmanuel ended the set in the Vixens favor with two kills down the middle.
"We just stayed focussed," said Cheryse Rolle yesterday. "Coach reminded us that last year we came back when they had us down 23-17 and still won the set so we knew that we were capable of doing it. We knew what we had to do and we just went out there and did it. It feels good but we still have more work to do. We have to come out strong on Wednesday.
We really want to take them in three straight so we coming with fire in our eyes," she added. Cheryse Rolle led the Vixens with 13 kills and 16 points in total yesterday. Emmanuel added nine kills. Krystel Rolle was the team's best server and also had two big blocks at the net. Kelsie Johnson was the game's top scorer with 17 kills and 18 points in total for the Lady Truckers.
Bastian added 13 kills. Charlow had three big blocks for the Lady Truckers. Keva Seymour of the Lady Truckers was the game's top setter with 51 sets, and Tia Wilson had 35 for the Vixens. "Well, we knew that today was do-or-die so we came here with the mentality of leaving it all on the court and I think that we did that," said Cheryse Rolle. "The Truckers is a good team, they made some adjustments but fifth set is our time.
We were focussed in that set and we brought it home." Lady Truckers' Head Coach DeVince Smith said that his girls saw the finish line too early. "We started out pretty slow; we got our rhythm together and then we fell apart," he said. "Playing a championship team like the Vixens, you have to come aggressive every point and every set.
I think we fell weak at the end of the third set, and again in the fifth set, but we just have to come back on Wednesday and play hard. With this kind of game, it could go any way but we just came out too slow. We had a lot of passing errors and at this level of play, you have to be sound. The team that makes the least mistakes will be the team that comes out on top, and today, that team was the Scottsdale Vixens.
We're going to regroup and come out focused on Wednesday. I think that we'll have to play good defense and let our offense feed off of that. It's going to be a battle but we'll be ready," he added. With a win on Wednesday, the Vixens would clinch their eighth straight NPVA title, and ninth in the past 10 years. The Lady Truckers, on the other hand, will be looking for their first NPVA title.
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