Cardiac Cats: Lady Tigers stun powerhouse St. Pius X in three-set volleyball thriller

Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Matthew Resnick/Daily Mail/ The Nevada Lady Tigers mob each other in a wild celebration near center court in Wynn Gym after a thrilling defeat of St. Pius X, Tuesday night.

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada Lady Tigers notched one of the biggest regular season volleyball wins in the program's history Tuesday night in Wynn Gym.

The heart-pounding, adrenaline-filled three-set victory over the mighty St. Pius X Warriors provided the electrified home crowd with more drama than a soap opera.

Matthew Resnick/Daily Mail/ The Lady Tigers celebrate a hard earned victory over St. Pius X.

St. Pius X has advanced deep into the state tournament the past four seasons.

After losing the first set 26-24 in heartbreaking fashion, the Lady Tigers bounced back to take the second set 25-17. The final set went down to the wire, as a Margaret Cavener kill slammed the door shut on the Warriors hopes. The Lady Tigers won the final set 26-24.

"Wow, we needed that. I don't think I've ever wanted a match this much in my life," fifth year Nevada head coach Ashley Thoreson said after emerging from a joyous post-game locker room 20 minutes after the match. "I just told them how proud of them I was. It was definitely an all-around team effort."

Matthew Resnick/Daily Mail/ Lady Tigers senior libero Lexie Overton gets positioned for a dig, Tuesday night against the St. Pius X Warriors.

The win improves Nevada to 3-3 in West Central Conference play and 6-8 overall.

The Lady Tigers were down early in the decisive third set, trailing by scores of 6-3 and 9-4. Nevada clawed back into the match, reeling off four quick points to slice the St. Pius lead to 9-8.

The Warriors answered back with a 5-1 mini-blitz to go on top 14-9. A hard spike by Cavener ended the St. Pius run.

Matthew Resnick/Daily Mail/ Junior middle blocker Megan Hold goes up for a serve.

Nevada trimmed its deficit to 14-12 with a Megan Hold tap that fell gently to the floor.

Later, with Cavener serving, Hold recorded another kill as Nevada tied the match 14-14.

St. Pius regained the lead going in front 16-14. However, a 4-0 run capped by an Ellie Smith ace handed the Lady Tigers an 18-16 edge. An attempted kill by Warriors right-side hitter Meredith Wilson sailed out of bounds as Nevada went up 19-16.

Matthew Resnick/Daily Mail/ Lady Tigers junior outside hitter Margaret Cavener serves Tuesday night against St. Pius X.

Holding a 21-18 lead, St. Pius reeled off three consecutive points to knot the set 21-21. Hold was able to stop the Warriors momentum with a kill. Later, a Cavener kill that narrowly stayed inbounds gave Nevada a 24-23 edge.

Nevada was unable to finish off the Warriors as they again tied the match, 24-24. On this night, Cavener wasn't going to allow the Lady Tigers to lose, as back-to-back hard spikes ended the contest.

In addition to Cavener's heroics, Hold's 15-kill performance was all the more impressive as she played hobbled with a sprained ankle. Senior libero Lexie Overton also had a sparkling performance, coming up with dig after dig.

"Lexie is our leader," Thoreson said. "She has that mental toughness, that 'I want to win every time I step on the court mentality.'"

Overton shared her thoughts on the big victory after the match.

"We haven't been playing so well, and tonight we meshed together as a team and it felt so good," the elated senior said. "Everyone was so happy for each other, and I think that's what helped us pull out the 'W,' is support."

Judging by her performance Overton has ice water in her veins.

"I love playing under pressure, I live for that," she said.

Overton said she thinks the victory will serve as a springboard to a successful remainder of the season.

"This is a ginormous win," she said. "This win will give us so much momentum it's not even funny."

For the game, Overton tallied 20 digs and two aces, while Hold chipped in with 17 digs and three blocks. Junior Ellie Smith had a monster performance with 40 assists and two aces, while Cavener finished with nine kills ---- many of them coming in key situations. Mindy Hendren and Kaitlynn Johnmeyer added four blocks apiece.

"These stats are unbelievable," Thoreson said. "We had 125 swinging attempts and 40 kills combined."

---- Controversial call ----

The Warriors caught a major break en route to their 26-24 first set victory, as a controversial call ended the set.

"I thought for sure the ball was out of bounds," Thoreson said referring to the Warriors set-ending kill."

---- Next up ----

The Lady Tiger look to carry their momentum over to Carl Junction, as they compete in a tournament hosted by the school, Saturday.

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