By Mike Maltais
Following a three-game loss (25-13, 25-17, 25-22) to the Brewster Bears on Sept. 23, the Liberty Bell High School varsity girls’ volleyball team let a strong start slip away against visiting Bridgeport Thursday (Sept. 25) and allowed the Fillies to mount a comeback that ended in a 3-1 Bridgeport victory.
An all-around team effort got the Lady Lions off to a fast 25-17 start in the first game with strong passing from Baylee Canedo and Torie Weber, service points by Erin Schuh and kills by Weber and Lauren Fitzmaurice.
Game two saw the momentum begin to shift Bridgeport’s way as the Lady Lions missed opportunities to push the ball or saw attempts fail to stay in bounds. The Fillies’ 25-15 comeback fueled their boilers for a second win, 25-11, as Bridgeport’s Lauren Ellis racked up point after point from the service line.
“We didn’t attack in games two and three,” said former LBHS varsity volleyball coach Kim Frey, who was closely monitoring serves, pushes, passes and hits.
In a must-win fourth game, Fitzmaurice got Liberty Bell up early with points from the service line and the game remained close with the teams tied 10 times during the close contest.
At 22-all, the Fillies went up one, prompting coach Tim Boonstra to call a time out. But Bridgeport hung on to take the best of four games, 25-22.
Liberty Bell was at Okanogan on Tuesday (Sept. 30) for a league game against the Bulldogs and will host Manson at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 2). The Lady Lions will travel to Lake Roosevelt for a second shot at the Raiders on Tuesday (Oct. 7).
