Gentry defeats Lincoln

Team proves its growth on the court

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

— Though the young Gentry volleyball team has struggled this season against bigger and more experienced teams, the players’ growth as a team was proven on the court in Gentry last week when the girls went the distance and defeated Lincoln in a full five sets — 23-25, 25-20, 12-25, 25- 13, 15-9.

Senior Heather Marshall led the team in kills with 5, and sophomore Vivi Serna had 3 digs to lead the defense. Senior Emilia Barrick and sophomore Samantha Curran also did a great job setting the ball consistently to Gentry’s hitters, which allowed the Lady Pioneers to get lots of scoring opportunities.

“It felt like a marathon!” Gentry coach Daren Ward said. “Both teams played really hard, so it basically came down to fundamentals and who could execute mentally as well as physically in the end. We put ourselves in a hole, down2setsto1,andI wasn't sure how we would respond to the adversity, but when we got out of the huddle for the fourth set, I felt like something special was going to hap- pen, and we made just enough plays to pull it out. I'm so proud of our team and we're looking forward to carrying this momentum for the rest of the year.”

The Gentry girls traveled to Pea Ridge on Thursday. Scores were not available at press time.

The junior high team won its first game of the year against Lincoln with the following scores: Junior High B game — 23-25, 25-16, 25-19 for a win.

Conference Junior High game — 25-18, 23-25, 25- 20 for a win.

lost in an away game to Pea Ridge:

Junior High B game — 11-25,15-25, for a loss.

Conference Junior High Game — 13-25, 23-25, for a loss.