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End of the Line: Pearce tops Allen in playoff opener
BY Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
RICHARDSON -- Despite keeping it close and leading at several different points in three of the four sets, Allen's volleyball season came to an end Tuesday night.
The Lady Eagles were bested by Richardson Pearce, 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 19-25, 25-15), in the bi-district round of the playoffs from Richardson Berkner.
"I'm disappointed in how we played," said Kelley Gregoriew, Allen head coach. "I thought that after we came back in the third set that that was our team, but we couldn't find a gel defensively and that made it hard."
Junior Camryn Frieberg had 17 kills for Allen followed by sophomore Sheridan Ralston, who had 10. Senior Kate Klepetka led the way with 20 digs, followed by senior Kelly Holden's 13. Senior Kim Bell, meanwhile, had six aces for the Lady Eagles.
There were four lead changes early before Pearce edged past Allen to maintain a slim lead throughout most of the first set. Allen trailed by only two points at 15-13 before seeing Pearce come into its own and dominate the rest of the way as the lead quickly became 23-15 in favor of the Mustangs.
"We had a hard time blocking their outside and right side hitters," Gregoriew said. "It's hard when you gain a little momentum and then lose it. They were the better team tonight, bottom line."
Both teams would again play it tight through most of the second set as well with four lead changes and no team leading by more than three until Pearce gradually began to pull away as 12-12 became 17-12 and the Mustangs remained in control the rest of the set.
"We in some ways beat ourselves," Gregoriew said. "I'm disappointed in all of our errors."
The Lady Eagles, who never led by more than two in the first two sets, got their largest lead of the night in the third set, jumping out to a 6-0 lead on the way to the third-set victory.
Gregoriew credits the third set turnaround to the strong play by freshmen Paige Cole.
"Paige, our freshman, came in and turned it around. She served really well in that third set and got a lot of critical points," she said. "She came in and brought some fire to the situation."
Pearce, however, would find their form once more and take control in the fourth set, jumping out to a 14-4 lead and never looking back.
"We made some changes in the lineup," Gregoriew said. "We were working well and passing well. I thought we'd be able to take that and carry it over into the next one and keep up the momentum, but it didn't happen."
In addition to Cole's contributions, Gregoriew was also pleased with the performance from freshman Shelby Perlich and Freiberg.
"When we were digging well and passing well, we were making it through," Gregoriew said. "My libero [Perlich] dug well and passed well. And my middle [Freiberg] did a good job as far as swinging and scoring points."
All things considered, with a winning record and a playoff berth under their belts, Gregoriew was proud of what she saw from her team this season.
"We've kind of been on a roller coaster" she said. "At the beginning of the season we did really well and then we struggled and hit some bumps where we couldn't seem to pull out a win, then we turned things around in the second half. I'm definitely excited by the improvement in our play over the season.
"Overall, I'm proud of where my team was at and how well they did."
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
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