How about them Bulldogs
Nyssa rebounds from a 2-0 deficit, takes
3-2 win over Ontario

By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 11:25 AM PDT

Ray Rodriguez | Argus Observer Nyssa’s Karina Armenta (front) lunges for the kill attempt while teammate Angela Mitchell looks on during Tuesday’s non-league volleyball match in Ontario. The Bulldogs won the match in five games.

Ontario—Call ESPN, because there was another instant classic played Tuesday in Ontario.

In a battle of kills, aces and replayed points, Ontario and Nyssa’s volleyball teams engaged in a knock-down, drag-out, slugfest, with the Lady Bulldogs rebounding from a 2-0 deficit, to take an emotional 3-2 win over Ontario in non-league volleyball action.

The sweltering gym had a state playoff feel with parents screaming, the benches yelling and the student section stomping their feet and chanting until their lungs quit.

Katie Branch’s Ontario volleyball team was in complete control, taking the first two games 25-19 and 25-15 against Nyssa, but the Bulldogs bounced off the deck and won the next two games, 25-21 and 25-23 to force a decisive fifth game.

Nyssa senior Tiffany Wentz gave all the credit to Mr. Mo. (momentum).

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“It was all a team effort and getting that momentum up is just amazing. When you get it up, you’re having fun, you’re working harder and you go for everything. We just wanted it, I think, a little bit more than Ontario did tonight,” Wentz said.

In the fifth game, it was Nyssa who cruised to an early advantage, using back-to-back kills by Tori Armenta and Karina Armenta to take a 10-5 lead.

Ontario tied the score at 10 on a kill by Jordan Barnett, and the Tigers added two more points for the 12-10 cushion.

Nyssa evened the count at 12, and on the following serve, a little bit of controversy ensued.

Karina Armenta launched a kill out of bounds, and Nyssa contended an Ontario player had touched the ball.

A meeting took place, and the sideline judge from across the court announced her findings, and the head official called for a replay of the point.

On the next rally, Ontario returned a shot out of bounds, and Nyssa led 13-12. The next point saw Barnett hit a ball long, and Ontario contested a Nyssa player had grazed the leather.

The ruling would stand, however, and Nyssa was one point from a win, with a 14-12 lead.

Ontario added a point to make the score 14-13 and had the serve with Hayley Reever at the stripe.

After Reever’s serve, Katie Booth made the hit, and Wentz set it up for Karina Armenta, who instead of dropping a forceful spike, relegated to a soft tap over the net onto the ground for the final tally.

In the end, Branch could only think of what could have been.

“They came out and stuck it to them in the first games pretty hard, and then we kind of fell off a little bit. We didn’t play to that same level. It’s about playing to their same abilities until the last point of the last match is scored. Win or lose, it should be that exact same mentality, the exact same effort. You can’t relax. What we can do is take it, learn from it and put it behind us,” Branch said.

Both teams hit the court in Nyssa for a rematch date at 1 p.m. Saturday.