JOHNSON CITY — If the rest of the Big East goes the way of Thursday night’s matchup between Dobyns-Bennett and Science Hill, the race for the league title will be a fascinating one to follow.
The Lady Hilltoppers came out on top in a back-and-forth affair 3-2 (25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13)
“People are saying (about this team), ‘they’re young, they’re young,’†Lady Hilltoppers head coach Laura Cook said. “But they are feisty, they are eager to get after it. They compete. This group does a really good job of not fretting when they make mistakes. They move on and move on to the next play.â€
Early Roll for ‘Toppers
The defending league champions in Science Hill (3-0, 1-0 District 1-AAA) came out strong in the first set, scoring six of the first seven points. It caused Katie Helvey to call an early timeout to try and settle her Dobyns-Bennett (1-1, 0-1) squad down.
Helvey’s stoppage worked temporarily, as the Lady Indians were able to cut the deficit down to three shortly after the time out.
However, the Lady Hilltoppers methodically grew their advantage again, going up by as many as seven on two occasions before another D-B timeout at 21-14.
Once again, it allowed for a short burst of momentum, but Science Hill once again went up seven, eventually winning the first set.
D-B fights back
The second saw the Lady Indians use multiple key runs.
Grabbing an early 2-0 lead, D-B found themselves down 6-10 in the frame. That was quickly erased by a 5-0 spurt to go up one. They trailed once more 13-15, but scored the next five to force a Science Hill timeout.
It didn’t slow the Dobyns-Bennett train much, as they continued on an extended 8-1 run, holding on to take the set and even the affair at one.
Back and forth we go
The Lady Indians looked to continue their momentum into the third, scoring the first four points of the set.
While Science Hill chipped away early, tying the frame at six and again at seven, they couldn’t quite grab the lead, leading to another ‘Topper timeout after falling behind 7-10. They answered by taking nine of the next dozen points to flip their deficit into a 16-13 advantage.
Dobyns-Bennett wouldn’t let the Lady ‘Toppers get too far away from there, but could never close the gap.
Science Hill appeared to be well on their way to clinching the game in the fourth set, going up 19-14. However, the Lady Indians stormed back to win the set by taking 11 of the final 13 points, forcing a decisive fifth set.
In the fifth, the Lady Indians climbed out of a 5-9 hole to be on the brink of winning the set and match, going up 13-10.
However, Cook had a simple message to spark one final rally.
“I told them don’t quit,†she said. “‘Just keep hustling, keep getting after it. Play aggressive. Don’t start playing back on your heels.’ And they really answered. That’s what I’m talking about, they just play.â€
Play they did. The Lady Hilltoppers rattled off the next five points to take the final set and keep their winning streak over Dobyns-Bennett alive.
Outside hitter Chloe Conner led the Science Hill offense with a dozen kills. She also showed off her defensive prowess on the back line with 10 digs. Her success came from an early aggressive mindset.
“Especially early in the game, I want to come out and I want to be swinging,†Conner said. “I want my teammates to build off of me. If I can bring the energy and get us a kill, then maybe we can get a groove going and keep scoring.â€
Isa Dau led the defense with 20 digs while setter Lucy O’Daniel had 28 of the Lady Hilltoppers’ 33 assists.
Meanwhile for D-B, Milly Williams totaled 14 digs, seven assists and three aces. Jeslyn Harden had 16 kills, nine digs, and four aces. Kiyah Blye had 15 kills. Mela Brice coupled 37 assists with seven digs. Both Lucy Robers and Madison Sykes had four block kills.
Up Next
Both Science Hill and Dobyns-Bennett will be participating in the Knoxville Sunsphere Tournament this weekend.
