Top-Ranked Monarchs Rally Past Millard West
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OMAHA – As the top-ranked team in the state, Papillion-LaVista knew coming into Tuesday night’s match that they would get fifth-ranked Millard West’s best shot.
In a sign that the Monarchs are getting comfortable with their top-ranked status, they withstood the Wildcats’ early punches and delivered their own knock-out blow midway through the third set en route to a 20-25, 25-20, 25-10, 25-21 victory.
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After the two teams played evenly through two sets in a back-and-forth contest, Millard West got an ace block from senior Tiffany Wentworth that reduced the Papillion-LaVista lead to 10-6 in the third set.
From that point on, however, the Monarchs rattled off eight straight points to kick start a 12-1 run that gave them a runaway 25-10 victory in the third set. Papillion-LaVista then opened leads of 4-0 and 10-4 in the fourth set and withstood some late Millard West charges to secure the 3-1 victory.
The win improved Papillion-LaVista to 9-0 on the season, leaving the Monarchs and #4 North Platte as the only remaining undefeated teams in Class A. Millard West dropped to 9-2 with the loss.
“I thought we came out in the first set and everything clicked,” Millard West coach Erin Byrd said. “Everybody was competing and everybody was hitting the floor and everybody was taking care of the ball and hustling every play.”
Byrd said she told the team following the first set that they had played a complete set, but needed to now play a complete match.
Papillion-LaVista senior Priscilla O’Dowd made that goal difficult for the Wildcats as the Monarchs’ middle took over the second set with the score tied at 8-8. In a 7-0 run that pushed Papillion-LaVista out to a 15-8 lead in the second set, O’Dowd cranked out three kills and added a block.
From that point on, Millard West would not have the lead at any point the rest of the night.
Millard West will host Millard South on Thursday and Sioux Falls Lincoln on Saturday. Papillion-LaVista, meanwhile, next competes in the Lincoln Public Schools Classic on Friday and Saturday.
#1 Papillion-LaVista def. #5 Millard West 20-25, 25-20, 25-10, 25-21.
Papillion-LaVista (kills-ace serves-blocks)
Priscilla O’Dowd 17-0-5, Jess Peters 0-1-1, Katie Stephens 18-1-2, Elena Melendez 10-2-0, Sydney Fitzgibbons 5-0-0, Steph Gaston 9-0-1.
Millard West (kills-ace serves-blocks)
Sydney Stockfleth 7-0-0, Cassidy Loberg 7-0-3, Tiffany Wentworth 3-1-2, Bridget Petersen 6-0-1, Kira Shapiro 12-0-6, Alexy Woodward 6-0-0, Braeden Burling 2-0-0, Jordan Daniels 0-1-0.
Assists: Papillion-LaVista 57 (Peters 55, Stephens 1, Melendez 1). Millard West 39 (Wentworth 35, Sydney Yong 3, Stockfleth 1).