Falcons unable to keep up with top-ranked Cards

EAST BEND — In a battle between two birds; the Lady Falcons of Forbush and the Lady Cardinals of East Surry, the home team was put to the test. The Lady Falcons were facing off against one of the best teams in the 2A Foothills Conference, and in the state of North Carolina. East Surry was coming into the game with an undefeated record and a state championship under their belt, while Forbush had several young players on the court. East Surry was able to use their experience and knowledge of the game to take a 3-0 match win over Forbush.

The Lady Falcons were able to nab the first point of the opening set, with Emily Cook earning a kill from the middle hitter’s position. Although Forbush had started off strong, East Surry was able to go on a scoring rally to take a 7-2 lead. The rally by the Lady Cardinals was only stopped by a chance tip over the net by Cook, who gave Forbush its third point of the set. On the next play, Korbyn Brown put the ball down on East Surry’s side of the court with a tip behind the wall. Forbush had pulled within three points of the Lady Cardinals, but that would be as close as the score would be for the remainder of the set.

From the tenth point on, East Surry handled the ball with ease. The Lady Cardinals laid down aces, kills, and tips to gain an 18-10 lead over Forbush. Late in the set, the Lady Falcons struggled to return the powerful serve of East Surry. The Lady Falcons scrambled on the back line to try and regroup, but the damage had been done. East Surry put another point on the board with a kill to take a 25-15 win in the first set.

The second set was better than the first for the Falcons, as they were able to stick with the Lady Cardinals through the first few plays. Forbush was able to pull within one point of the Cardinals off of a kill by Addison Harrell, but that would be as close as they would get. East Surry put one point after another on the board to take a 20-14 lead. The Lady Falcons tried to battle back, but East Surry was unable to be stopped. The Cardinals added a point on a kill, then put up an ace to extend their lead to eight points. The rally was finally stopped with a kill by Forbush’s Katena Morrison, as she put the ball over East Surry’s block for a 15-22 score. As the Lady Cardinals were closing in on set point, they had to battle to get there. Forbush laid out for every ball possible until East Surry tipped the ball into an open space for a 24-16 score. East Surry’s final point of the set was a kill down the line, and the Lady Cards put up a 25-16 score for a two set lead.

The third and final set started off on the wrong foot for the home team. Forbush was unable to serve receive, which gave East Surry a commanding 15-3 lead. Forbush tried to make a comeback with kills by Brown, Ashlyn Shore, and Harrell, but East Surry proved to have the upper hand. The Lady Cardinals capitalized for a 25-14 third set win. After three complete sets, the Cardinals took the 3-0 conference win over Forbush.

The Lady Falcons are now 1-2 in the Foothills 2A and 2-5 overall. East Surry remains undefeated with an 8-0 record overall and 4-0 in the conference.