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Bengals survive in 5
Bassett knocks off No.4 Magna Vista
Bassett's Devyn Varner spikes the ball past two Magna Vista defenders during the quarterfinals of the Piedmont District Tournament on Tuesday at Bassett. The Lady Bengals prevailed in five matches. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray)
Fifth-seeded Bassett upset fourth-seeded Magna Vista with a win in the first round of the Piedmont District Volleyball Tournament on Tuesday at Bassett.
“They wanted it and I wanted it really badly,” said Lady Bengal coach Dyan Ragsdale. “We hadn’t had a district win where we’ve come out and played at all, and we were very capable of it. Very exciting for them. They are very excited to have won tonight.”
While a quick glance at Bassett’s record in the PD would show two wins, both came due to forfeits.
The Bengals (6-13 overall, 2-6 PD) took the win in five games 25-23, 15-25, 18-25, 25-20 and 15-8 as both teams battled back and fourth throughout the night.
“You can’t come out and not be mentally prepared to play any team. The Piedmont District was really close this year, and any given night any team could beat any team and tonight, unfortunately, we didn’t show up to play,” said Warrior coach Renée Scott.
The Warriors (12-10 overall, 3-5 PD) had a chance to put it away in the fourth game after taking the two previous, but allowed the Bengals to pull away by five points (12-7) midway through and were unable to rally.
Magna Vista managed to close the gap to two points but was unable to gain the lead late as the Bengals continually placed the ball on the court to pull away and force game five.
“We had some big blocks tonight that helped tremendously and our kills,” said Ragsdale of the keys to win. “We put a lot of balls in the court, whereas we’ve been putting a lot of balls out of the court or tipping the balls a lot. We put a lot of balls down tonight, and that helped a whole lot.”
Bassett took an early 4-1 lead in the final game and maintained composure down the stretch to advance to the semifinals.
“It was very intense. I think all of us had butterflies in our bellies,” said Bassett’s Diandra Thompson of the final game. “We were really trying to pull it out.”
After battling back from a one-game deficit, the Bengals never trailed and never allowed the Warriors to get within one point of the lead in game five.
Thompson recorded 11 kills, nine blocks and three digs for the Bengals.
“It was lack of offense,” said Scott. “We free balled the ball over all night. We tipped it to them, and they set up their offense, and they put it down, and we didn’t. That was the difference in the game — lack of offense, lack of communication.”
Brooke Joyce added nine blocks, seven kills and 14 service points to aid the Bengals; Devyn Varner recorded 11 kills and 11 service points, and Morgan Spangler had 28 assists, four kills and two blocks.
With the win, the Bengals will face top-seeded Tunstall at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Bassett.
“They’re a tough team, so we have to come out and play,” said Ragsdale.
“If we come and put our heads together so we can play as a team, we’ll at least give them a game,” she added.
Magna Vista’s Krystal Wood had 16 kills and four blocks on the night; Nyasia Williams recorded 15 kills, and Krista Smith had 14 kills and 14 service points.
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