One point from getting swept, the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill boys volleyball team would make an astonishing turnaround in last Thursday night’s match against archrival Oneida.
Instead of defeat, the Red Devils held on, survived the third game, then came back in each of the next two games and prevailed in five, a courageous victory that improved VVS’s record to 5-1.
Oneida, fresh off beating Living Word Academy earlier in the week, continued that momentum into the match’s early stages. Led by Shawn Ano’s front-line power, the Indians won the first game 25-17, then squeezed past VVS 25-23 in the second game.
In a close third game, Oneida trailed, but forced it beyond the point limit, then took the lead at 26-25, owning a match point. VVS fought it off, then withstood giving away a handful of game points before pulling it out, 31-29, to keep the match alive.
Now in the match, the Red Devils didn’t panic when it trailed 8-1 in the fourth game, turning it around again and, by a 25-22 margin, sending the match to the wire.
Deep into the fifth and final game, Oneida carried a 14-9 lead. VVS made one more comeback, tying it 17-17, then grabbing the lead a few times without being able to pull away.
Thus, they went beyond the limit again, staying even at 24-24 before a foul gave VVS the serve. Finally, with a Loboda kill, VVS won that last game and took the match, too.
For the night, Loboda had 13 kills and seven blocks, with teammate Jake Voelker producing a team-best 14 kills, plus 11 digs. Casey Henderson and Steve Geer each had five kills as Cole Barbano, feeding all of them, posted 39 assists. Kyle Renwick threw in 12 digs.
Meanwhile, Ano was spectacular for the Indians, earning 32 kills, eight blocks and eight digs. Kevin Cavanagh had 15 kills and Sam Adams posted 10 kills. Travis Morrison distributed 26 assists, to go with eight kills and 13 digs, while Eric Merrell earned 12 assists and Cody Staple, relentless on the defensive side, had 31 digs.
