Lakeside left Lake Hamilton scrambling as the Rams powered through to take a 3-0 win over their cross county rivals at Lakeside Athletic Complex Thursday night, but a quick start by the Lady Wolves left fans wondering if they would create an upset for senior night.
The visitors sparked an early run in the opening set behind freshman defensive specialist Ann Marie Tice who served up six straight service points including a pair of aces and pushed Lake Hamilton to a 6-0 advantage.
"They came out so hot," Lakeside head coach Rhonda Thigpen noted. "They were in rhythm, they had good serves, and it just took us a while, but I don't take anything away from them. Then after we got in rhythm, I thought it was one of our best chemistry games. We had a lot of young girls step up; the seniors played with intensity and desire."
Senior Wesley Divers answered for the Rams with three straight serves including an ace as the hosts cut the spread in half before holding the Lady Wolves to just 3 points while putting up 14 of their own for a 16-11 lead.
Lakeside senior standout Maddie Trusty stepped to the back line and sent over an ace before junior Sarah Porter and sophomore Olivia Porter rallied together for a net attack on the next play to up Lakeside's lead, 18-11.
Lake Hamilton failed to stop the bleeding while Olivia Porter held service for five straight points including three aces, pushing the Lady Rams ahead for good before Divers served one of her one to seal the 25-13 win.
Junior Audri Winfrey heated things up quickly in the second set with a big hit as the visiting team clinched an early 5-4 edge.
"This is only our third match," explained Lake Hamilton head coach Karen Smith. "Lakeside's good. She's offensively strong (and) defensively strong. We're still trying to figure out what we're gonna do, but I anticipate us getting better with every game because we're getting on the floor."
With the spread knotted 7-all, Olivia Porter served up three straight, highlighted by a pair of back-to-back aces that catapulted Lakeside ahead before senior Adachi Igbokidi's two big front-line blocks stretched the Lady Rams' lead out to 14-9.
Lakeside senior Katie Ballard's net attack helped kickstart an 9-3 run before Trusty assisted Ballard on a sneak attack from the middle for a 23-12 lead.
The Lady Wolves responded with 3 more points sealed by Winfrey's lone serve, but a key net play by Sarah Porter with Trusty on the assist secured the final for a 25-15 Lakeside win.
"We're all new people learning each other," Smith added. "Those girls have been playing together solid for a very long time. We just have a little bit of catching up to do."
Lake Hamilton battled back in the third, fueling early back-and-forth rallies by both opponents until Divers broke the stalemate with a kill. Lakeside senior libero Macy Landry served up an ace two plays later for a 4-1 lead before Trusty sealed a 5-2 spurt behind three straight service points of her own.
"This was a good first step," said Thigpen. "We played three games this week, but we really haven't looked as good as we did right then. ... (No.) 20 (Winfrey) is a real deal hitter. She looked great, we had to play hard against her, block hard, and if you're gonna win big games, you've got to play against people like that. Their libero's money, so we had to serve strategically because she was all over the floor."
After both teams traded hits, Lake Hamilton senior Aryn Hughes set Winfrey up for an attack at the net, trimming the gap 13-9 before classmate and setter Kynzee Dixon served up a few to bring the spread within reach.
Trusty kept the pace going and brought down the house with another power hit, and after both opponents split service behind back-and-forth defensive plays, the Lady Rams remained ahead with a 21-16 lead.
Divers' two straight serves inched Lakeside closer, but the Lady Wolves refused to back down and rallied behind Hughes and Winfrey for a final point before Landry served up one more, sealing the match with a 25-17 win.
"I think that we were just trying to get our bearings," said Smith. "We didn't even get to practice much as a 6-on-6, so it's just really hard when you have a bunch of new kids playing together for the first time and not having the preseason like we normally have. We're having to learn as we go, but that's OK. State (tournament) is at the end, so we've got a whole season, God-willing, that we get to play."
Landry paced Lakeside's defense with four digs with a pair of aces, Divers tallied three aces and five kills, and Igbokidi logged three blocks and a kill. Trusty had seven kills, six digs, one ace and two assists, Sarah Porter added five kills, Olivia Porter finished with nine assists, five aces and one dig, and Landry collected four kills.
Lake Hamilton's Hayleigh Wyrick defended the back line with nine digs, Winfrey collected five kills, three digs and a block, and Dixon added five assists, three digs and one kill. Hughes had four assists, three digs and a pair of kills while sophomore libero Daylee Aitken popped up eights digs. Junior Cassidy King added one kill and a blocked hit, and Tice tallied four digs.