By Robert Morgan | Published Sunday, October 12, 2008
The winning formula that allowed the Chico High School volleyball team to win more non-district matches this year than the last four combined has disappeared as of late. Things didn't get any easier when Paradise rolled into town Tuesday for a crucial District 6-2A showdown between the Wise schools.
The Lady Dragons showed a glimpse of why they made a huge improvement in just one year. However, the Lady Panthers proved why they expect to be in the state playoffs as they held off a stingy Chico squad in a 25-14, 23-25, 25-14, 26-24 victory.
Paradise rode the arm of its only senior to take all the momentum away from the hosts. After splitting the first two games, Briana Lambert literally served Chico out of the gym in game three.
The Lady Dragons were up 10-7 when Lambert took her turn at the service line. She racked up five aces and served 14 consecutive points to give Paradise all the momentum Chico had built in the previous games.
Chico finally ended the string of points when Shane Wyatt slammed a kill and stuffed a shot. However, it did not faze Paradise as Casey Fletcher got one of her seven stuffs of the night to end the game and give her team a 2-1 advantage.
The Lady Dragons were without the services of front-row standout Alyssa Bowyer. Her hitting and blocking ability were missed by her teammates, but they picked up the slack.
CHS senior Jessica Coffman made sure her team did not go down without a fight. She dished out two aces and crushed two kills early in game four as both schools traded points.
The game was tied on five occasions in the final game. Chico's Delani Long evened things up the fourth time at 10-10 when she hammered back-to-back kills through the blocks of the Paradise front line.
The Lady Panthers took advantage of five unforced errors to take the biggest lead of the game at 16-12. Outside hitter Hannah Johnson ripped two kills to keep the ball away from the hosts.
Chico did not back down. Kills from Rachel McKinley, Long and Coffman allowed the locals to chip away at the lead and eventually tie things up at 24-24.
The late rally forced extended play. Paradise did not need much as Lambert and Johnson pounded the ball into the defense for the final two points of the match to win the game and send Chico to its fifth straight loss.
"The girls played extremely well in this match," CHS coach Brent Hand said. "After finding out they would be without one of our starters they did exactly what they were asked to do."
The win lifted Paradise to 3-1 overall and 17-9 for the season. The group, which defeated Brock last week, is now tied for second place with the Eagles. Chico is still looking for the preseason magic it had as it slipped into last place at 0-4 and 12-20.
Paradise made it look like it might be a quick night after the opening game. The visitors needed 15 minutes to get the win after seven unforced errors by the hosts.
Chico had the early advantage thanks to the work of several starters. Melanie Gates, who had five kills on the night, and Coffman both fired hits for points. Shelbi Collins served up an ace to give CHS a 4-2 lead.
That was the only time the Lady Panthers trailed in the game. They got outside attacks by Hannah Avants and Fletcher to creep in front 10-9.
That's where the game got away from Chico. Paradise used four errors and an ace by Fletcher to score seven straight en route to building a 17-19 lead.
Collins and Coffman answered with kills but it was too little, too late. Paradise's Meg Arthur served up two aces to regain control of the game to get the win.
Game two belonged to Chico thanks to a barrage of hits that split the defense consistently. McKinley blasted a shot into the middle of the floor for the first point of the game and CHS never trailed.
Collins, Long and Gates followed with outside attacks that landed for points, and the Lady Dragons jumped ahead 14-6.
Chico kept the momentum and eventually built a 10-point lead thanks to ace from Wyatt and Collins and stuffs via Coffman and Long.
The Lady Panthers stopped the run when Candice McDaniel served up an ace and denied a couple of shots from Chico to get her team back into scoring mode.
Paradise never got the deficit back to single digits. Coffman, who led Chico with a match-high 13 kills and 14 assists, finished off her rivals by scoring five of the last seven points.
Wyatt, Gates and Long scored kills during the final run to win the game.
"They all elevated their game and played on a higher level," Hand said. "I am very proud of our improvement that I'm seeing game after game."
Paradise took control after that. The defensive work of Hannah Runnels, Fletcher and McDaniel were more than Chico could overcome.
