By Megan Thoreson
(CONDON) – The Condon Blue Devils defeated The Sherman County Huskies in a Tuesday nail biter at Condon High School.
The few who were in attendance got a treat as both teams battled throughout.
The First match started with Sherman County up to serve but the Blue Devils got the first point of the night from a solid spike from #7 Kyrsten Smith. Followed up by an ace serve from teammate #3 Kiara Takagi, Condon solidified 3 a point lead and was up 4 to 1. The Blue Devils looked confident.
But impressive plays from Huskies middle blocker #2 Mercedez Cardona and their setter #6 Morgan Geary kept the Huskies in the game and the momentum quickly swung to Sherman County.
Incredibly strong serves from Blue Devil #17 Abby Colby swung the game back to the Blue Devils. Colby scored 4 points on her serves and Condon’s confidence once again grew. But Sherman came back. Huskies #5 Cali Johnson did not quit and managed to get under her strong serve. Her teammates rallied around her as Johnson made an excellent play that would gain another point for the Huskies. Condon kept their lead and eventually pulled away, winning the match 25-12.
The second match was a battle between both teams. The score was 6 to 5, Condon in the lead, when Huskies Middle Blocker #2 Mercedez Cardona was up to serve. Cardona showed her skills, getting two ace serves in a row. They were back at a tie, 7 to 7, anyone’s game. When Blue Devil #17 Abby Colby was back up to serve, showing just as much power as she did in the last match, allowing her team to get the lead 10 to 7. Sherman did not back down and got under Colby’s serves. A killer block from #12 Sophie Hulke stopped a long rally between teams and gave the momentum back to Sherman.
With the score 22 to 17, Condon in the lead, Huskies #11 Nancy Ambriz looked like she was going in for the kill, but she surprised everyone when she tipped the ball right over her blockers, gaining Sherman another point. This was followed by Middle Blocker #2 Mercedez Cardona landing two service aces in a row. With the score 22 to 20 – Sherman won five long rallies, Sherman won the close match – 23 to 25.
The third match continued with long rallies and excellent play by both sides. The score was 17 to 18 when Blue Devil #17 Abby Colby was back up to serve, she gained another 2 points from her serves. An incredible tip over the blockers from #4 McKenzie LaRue got the Blue Devils to 20 points first. This was followed by #16 Sidney Geer’s powerful spike, that got the crowd into the game. The Huskies fought hard against The Blue Devils attacks, showing incredible determination in their blocks. Condon’s powerful attacks won them this match with the score 25 to 18.
The fourth match started with Condon’s #3 Kiara Takagi up to serve but Sherman got under it and they launched into a long rally. A beautiful spike from Huskies #4 Natalie Martin ended the rally gaining Sherman the first point. The score was 1 to 8 Huskies in the lead. When Blue Devil #5 Megan Aamodt got two strong spikes in a row, the team gained momentum. Condon was fighting to close the point gap. The teams were tied 21 to 21, when an out of bounds spike got Sherman the point followed by a strong ace serve by Huskies #11 Nancy Ambriz, bringing the score to 21 to 23. The match came to an end by tip from Huskies #12 Sophie Hulke, Huskies won 22 to 25.
After already playing four intense matches, both teams got ready to play the fifth match of the night. Tie breaking match, the first team to 15 points wins (team has to win by 2 points). The tie breaking match started off with intense play, both teams knowing they needed to get a two point lead to win. With Sherman serving first, the game went into a brutal rally. The score was 0 to 3 Sherman in the lead, a tip over blockers by Huskies #2 Mercedez Cardona gets Sherman another point lead, followed by a service ace by #6 Morgan Geary, bringing the score to an impressive 0 to 5.
It looked like it was Sherman’s game when Blue Devil #3 Kiara Takagi did an amazing setter dump that and shocked everyone. Impressively Kiara takes those points back by getting two service aces in a row. Condon brought the score to 4-5 with Sherman still in the lead. Then, Blue Devil #16 Sidney Geer was up to serve and got two solid service aces in a row. Both teams fight viciously not wanting to give up. Great plays and long rallies from both teams. It was an intense battle between the two teams, the score 14 to 13, the rally was long, neither team willing to give up and pushing themselves to the limit. Condon won the match from an out of bounds pass from Sherman. Score was 15 to 13.
#11 from Sherman was Allie Marker