Northwest Christian escapes with narrow win

DAVENPORT – The clash between the Gorillas' volleyball team and Northwest Christian Tuesday, Oct. 22, was expected to go down to the wire, and that it did.

The Gorillas entered the match 10-0 in NE2B play and the Crusaders came in 9-1, with their sole loss to Davenport on Oct. 8. After battling five sets, NWC squeaked out a 3-2 win (24-26, 25-18, 25-15, 18-25, 17-15).

The first game set the tone for the nail-biter that was to follow. Gorillas' front row players Chloe Hammond and Selah Hupp recorded multiple kills to put their team ahead 11-10.

The Crusaders countered with a scoring run that gave them a 17-12 advantage, which they extended to 23-19. The Gorillas dug in and scored five straight points to jump ahead 24-23. After the Crusaders knotted the score at 24, Davenport sealed the 26-24 win with a dynamic spike by Hupp.

The Gorillas' energy and focus appeared to take a dip in the second and third sets. They played back on their heels and committed unforced errors that allowed the Crusaders to cruise to wins of 25-18 and 25-15.

After losing the third set, Davenport head coach Jill Morrison pulled her team off the court and into the locker room for a closed-door meeting. When the Gorillas took the floor for the fourth set they played with enthusiasm, which was something that was missing in the previous two sets.

The Gorillas jumped all over NWC in the fourth set, taking a 12-3 lead, which they extended to 21-13. Hammond and Hupp each recorded three kills and Hupp, Astray Sosa and Faith Bell each served aces in the Gorillas' 25-18 win.

Emotions were high as the teams took the floor for the decisive fifth set. The teams matched each other point-for-point. Neither team could pull away on the race to 15 points. Hupp, Hammond, Sosa and McCall Knopp each recorded kill shots and Tatum Hupp and Selah Hupp served aces as the Gorillas tied the score 15-15.

NWC scored the last two points to win the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.

Hammond led the Gorillas with 18 kills, followed by Selah Hupp who had 16. Sosa and Bell had 24 and 19 assists, respectively. The Gorillas defense was led by Tatum Hupp who had 28 digs. Hammond, who had 25 digs, followed her. Sosa and Selah Hupp each had 16 digs and Bell added eight more.

NWC's win and Davenport's loss left both teams with a 10-1 record with two games left in league play. The Gorillas close out the season playing at Kettle Falls Saturday, Oct. 26, and home against Reardan, Tuesday, Oct. 29.