Liberty Bell’s Caitlyn Cooley, No. 8, met a Brewster player at the net as Jadyn Mitchell, far right, readied for the next shot.
The hard-fought volleyball match between Liberty Bell High School and Brewster last Thursday (Oct. 4) seemed destined to come down to the last surge. Unfortunately for the Lady Lions, it was the visiting Bears who made the final move to claim a 3 – 2 victory.
It was a gritty, determined performance by the Lady Lions, who were coming off a 3 – 0 loss to Manson earlier in the week and were facing a perennial volleyball powerhouse. Ultimately, Liberty Bell fell just two points short of a signature win in the fifth and deciding game.
The Lady Lions recovered from a 25 – 14 loss in the first game, which was controlled by Brewster. Liberty Bell followed up with two 25 – 23 wins in which the home team refused to fold and held off the visitors.
The Lady Lions led from the start of game two, but had to come from behind to take game three. Brewster claimed the fourth game, 25 – 21, although Liberty Bell was in it to the end. That set up the fifth game.
The tie-breaker games are played to 15 points. Brewster and Liberty Bell played evenly through 10 – 10, then the Lady Lions gave themselves a little space with a 13 – 11 lead. It wasn’t enough, as Brewster scored the final four points for the win.
The games featured numerous extended points that included some spectacular saves on both sides of the net.
The loss left Liberty Bell with a 5 – 4 record for the season, 1 – 3 in league play. All the Lady Lions’ losses were to the top three teams in the league, Brewster, Manson and Lake Roosevelt. Liberty Bell played at Waterville-Mansfield on Tuesday (Oct. 9), hosts Tonasket on Thursday (Oct. 11) at 6:30 p.m., then stays a home for a return match with Waterville-Mansfield on Saturday (Oct. 13), also starting at 6:30 p.m.
