There’s no place like home for the Gainesville volleyball team, especially when they’re playing rival Buchholz.
GHS pulled away late in the opening set and swept the visiting Bobcats 25-16, 25-8, 25-18 on Monday night at The Purple Palace.
“We definitely came in here very confident,” said GHS senior middle blocker Nicole Ellis. “We were super excited to play our rival team obviously and this is a game that we were ready for and preparing for, so it was definitely exciting and fun to compete against them.”
It was the eighth straight win against their rival and Gainesville’s 21st win in its last 22 matches at home.
“I think we always beat Buchholz when I was here so it’s kind of like the expectation,” said GHS first-year coach Jerica Carter-Mitchell, who was a part of back-to-back state championships at GHS in 2003 and 2004. “Playing this weekend (at the JJVA tournament in Jacksonville) was really helpful…we had lots of reps, and I think that helped us tonight.”
It was a seesaw opening set, which was tied 12 times.
Buchholz (8-8) tied the set at 14-14 for the final time on a kill by senior Jovanna Pettigrew (5 kills, 9 digs).
“She’s had a pretty slow start to the season, but I would say that probably our last five matches she’s really kind of found her role, found confidence in herself swinging, and so she’s definitely going to be someone that we need moving forward especially going to the playoffs,” said first-year Buchholz coach Andre Medina.
However, the Hurricanes (11-7) answered with a 4-0 run including a pair of aces by junior libero Addyson Hauptman for an 18-14 lead.
GHS finished the opening set with a 6-0 run, including an ace by senior Taylor Ellis (five aces), to win the first set, 25-16, for a 1-0 lead.
The ‘Canes began the second set with three straight aces by freshman Jacey Carter-Mitchell, coach’s daughter, and never trailed.
She led GHS with six aces and was second on the team with five kills.
“Her serving has grown, and she had great runs over the weekend at the Jacksonville tournament as well,” said her mom. “That wasn’t the original plan, to have her serve, I had Nicole (Ellis) serving and the libero serving but stat-wise we had to make the change and try JC serving. So far it has worked so we’re not going back. We made a change and it’s working so we’re going to keep it for now.”
An 11-0 run later in the set, highlighted by three aces by Ellis, helped put the second game out of reach.
“I’m really proud of my group,” said Carter-Mitchell. “We have been hounding them on serving…that’s one of our main goals that we’ve been working on, and we even did serving and passing right after school so that helped.”
It was also a seesaw third set until Buchholz junior Victoria Trucco (3 kills) gave the Bobcats their last lead at 13-12 with a kill.
“That’s been the story of our season all year long,” Medina said. “We’ll come out and play great for about 30 points and then we’ll lose it for about 30 points and then come right back again. It’s just a matter of having consistency.”
But three straight kills by GHS junior Rowan Kage (game-high 10 kills) gave the Hurricanes their largest lead at 19-14.
“She’s very crafty and her being a lefty that just makes it that much better and harder for the defense,” Carter-Mitchell said. “Even though they know she is a lefty, and they prepare for it, it’s still tricky when you’re playing her so it’s just nice to have that trick in her pocket.”
Ellis, who recently committed to North Carolina A&T, had the final kill of the night to go along with her seven blocks.
“I think she played well,” Carter-Mitchell said. “I know she can be hard on herself and think of things that she should have done but volleyball is a game of errors, and she held her own out there. She did a great job blocking and making it hard on their hitters.”
Freshman Julia Almond had 16 assists and senior Rosy Logan had 11 digs to lead Buchholz, which will play at The Rock at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Kage added 11 assists and sophomore Charlotte Judge had 10 assists for GHS, which will play at Santa Fe (Alachua) on Wednesday. The first serve is at 7 p.m.
