CMB can’t hold onto lead versus B-F

CMB junior Abby Maher finished with 10 kills and 10 digs last night against No. 9 Bondurant-Farrar. The Raiders led the Ladyjays two games to none before falling in the final three frames. Troy Hyde/Daily News

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BAXTER — CMB had No. 9 Bondurant-Farrar on the ropes Monday night in Baxter. Leading two games to none, the Raiders seemed to have everything going their way. Then the Ladyjays picked up their intensity, began to pass the ball better and relied heavily on star hitter Trisha Rooney. The end result was a 19-25, 20-25, 25-16, 27-25, 15-5 five-set victory for the visiting Jays, who improved to 16-3 on the season. The Raiders lost their second straight match and are now 9-4 on the year. “That’s the best match we have played all year,” CMB coach Jon Richards said. “The difference was we passed the ball really well in the first two games and then they passed well after that and the momentum shifted. And Trisha got going, too.” The turning point in the match came in Game 4. CMB had a lead of two games to one and match point at 24-15. Bondurant-Farrar, however, denied the match several times, rolled off 10 straight points and eventually captured the game 27-25. “Losing that game played a huge effect on us mentally,” Richards said. “It’s pretty hard to come back from something like that. They are a great team, and they got fired up. They don’t make a lot of mistakes, either.” Bondurant-Farrar made very few mistakes in the deciding game as a close frame was broken up midway through as the Ladyjays built an 11-4 lead on back-to-back aces by senior Hannah Baker and finished off the Raiders five points later. “We needed just one more point, and I was pretty sure we would get it,” Richards said. “They got down after losing Game 4. They didn’t quit though.” The Raiders did not back down from the highly ranked Jays at all on the night and even showed they can play with a good team. The opening game was close throughout until the end when Jordan and Abby Maher got going. An error by CMB made it 17-16, but a tip by Jordan and a kill by Abby made it 19-16. Abby Maher added two more kills before the end of the game and Jordan Maher threw in an ace before a hitting error by B-F gave CMB the early lead. The Raiders trailed early in Game 2 but didn’t stay down for long. The biggest lead of the game for the Ladyjays was four at 9-5, but a Julia Robinson kill and a Kylie Newsom ace eventually evened the score at 12. Then a long service rotation by Robinson gave the Raiders momentum as they grabbed the lead and never looked back. During the long rotation, Jordan Maher had a block and back-to-back kills and the Ladyjays committed three errors. Jordan Maher maintained her dominance at the net later in the game. Another kill followed by a block pushed the lead to 21-16 and another kill later made it 24-20 before an error by B-F handed the Raiders a two games to none lead. Jordan Maher finished with 18 kills, 10 blocks, seven digs and two aces on the night. “We need to use this as a learning experience,” Richards said. “If we play hard, we can compete with the great teams. We showed that tonight.” The Raiders never really had control of Game 3. It was a tight match early but hitting errors and miscues by CMB allowed the Jays to go out in front by nine at 18-9. Service and hitting errors by B-F along with kills by Amy Atwood and Jordan Maher as well as a block by Jordan Maher and an ace by Megan Petermeier closed the lead to six points, but Bondurant-Farrar finished with three straight points to get back in the game. CMB couldn’t have started better or finished worse in Game 4. The Raiders came out firing on all cylinders as two kills by Atwood and two more by Robinson made it 6-1 early. Another long service rotation by Robinson — which included three Jordan Maher kills and a block — pushed the lead to 12-2, but B-F rallied with seven straight points to cut the advantage to just three. With the Raiders’ clinging to a four-point lead later, Abby Maher came through with a kill and Newsom stepped up her play with a kill, a block and an ace as the lead grew to 22-15 before Atwood’s kill gave the Raiders match point. That’s when the game turned as a 9-0 run by the Jays tied it and another three points later tied the match up at two games apiece. Momentum would never be regained in the match, and the Raiders suffered a disappointing finish to an otherwise competitive volleyball match. Notes: Abby Maher finished with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Robinson pitched in eight kills and seven blocks. Atwood finished with six kills and three digs, and Lindsey Gauch delivered 34 assists and four digs. ... The Raiders entered the Bondurant-Farrar game with a disappointing loss to Gilbert last Thursday. CMB lost in three games, 25-23, 25-23, 25-15. “We looked a step slow the whole night,” Richards said. “We didn’t pass well and only served 82 percent.” ... The Raiders are in action tonight at Colo-Nesco. They hope to give Richards his 101st win as head coach at CMB.

At Baxter Bondurant-Farrar defeated Collins-Maxwell-Baxter 19-25, 20-25, 25-16, 27-25, 15-5

CMB Individual Statistics KILLS — Jordan Maher 18, Abby Maher 10, Julia Robinson 8, Amy Atwood 6, Kylie Newsom 1. BLOCKS — Jordan Maher 10, Robinson 7. ACES — Jordan Maher 2, Newsom 2, Megan Petermeier 2, Abby Maher 1. DIGS — Abby Maher 10, Jordan Maher 7, Amanda Aukes 7, Lindsey Gauch 4, Hannah Paul 3, Atwood 3, Newsom 2, Mackenzie Petermeier 2, Robinson 1, Jessica Robinett 1, Megan Petermeier 1. ASSISTS — Gauch 34.