Kenadee Barnwell said her teammates never liked when she would pass the ball over the net, but Thursday night that was the only way the Battery Creek senior could play the ball to make sure Hanahan did not score again. Sure enough, that was the most important pass of the night.
Battery Creek’s volleyball team (3-1, 1-1) battled back to win the last two sets and defeat the visiting Hanahan Hawks 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 16-25, 25-11, 15-11) at the Palace.
“It felt so good,” said Barnwell of her game-winning kill. “Because the whole team doesn’t like it when I pass, but I said to myself I have to pass because I can’t get to it any other way. We won and I was ecstatic.”
And so was the rest of the team as the Dolphins stormed the court and embraced one another following the final point hitting the floor.
“It feels great,” coach Michael Paul said. “First region win, at home, in five. It was perfect.”
It was an all-around team effort in the victory as Carolina Alvarez, Barnwell, Amber Cooklin, Reagan Moore and Kinley Webb all recorded kills.
Both teams played a competitive opening frame, exchanging points throughout early on. After a Moore block and a kill from Barnwell, the Dolphins pushed its lead out to five points at 23-18. Cooklin finished off the set with a kill from the back row, giving Creek a 1-0 lead.
Hanahan controlled much of the second set, keeping Creek at bay before running off four straight points to surge ahead and force a timeout from BC. With the score at 16-9, the Dolphins battled back within two and then tied it on back-to-back attacking errors. Tied at 22, the Hawks recorded consecutive aces before sending home the set point just inside the line.
The Hawks continued their strong play into the third set, moving ahead early and extending the lead late into the set. Creek battled to come back but a miscommunication led to the set going in favor of Hanahan.
Cooklin got things rolling for the Dolphins in the fourth set, picking up an ace and a kill to open the stanza. Creek increased its lead to 8-3, forcing the Hawks to burn a timeout. Battery Creek dominated the remainder of the set, pushing its lead as large as 14 with big kills from Barnwell to close out the set.
“In between the third and fourth set, we talked about playing more aggressive and not playing timid,” Paul said. “We talked about relaxing and just playing the game and I believe it showed in the fourth set unbelievably well.”
Both teams exchanged points in the decisive frame with no team pushing ahead more than one point. Cooklin pushed across a beautiful set from Brooke Crosby to give the Dolphins a 7-6 lead, but the Hawks battled right back to tie it at seven. Following back-to-back attacking errors from the Dolphins, Hanahan took the first two-point lead of the set. But Creek tied it right back up at 9 and Kinley Webb picked up a big kill, pushing BC back in front. Cooklin delivered an ace and an attacking error put Creek up 13-9. Webb finished off a great rally started by Emme Loia to set up game point for Battery Creek. The Hawks scored two more points but Barnwell sent a pass over the net that split the Hawks defense, claiming the victory for the Dolphins.
“I can’t be more proud,” Paul said. “They did everything I asked them to do and we did everything we needed to do to win a big match.”
Battery Creek will hit the road Tuesday, traveling to Daniel Island to square off against Bishop England. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
By Brackin Lambert / Photo by Cloe Herman
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