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Patriots volleyball defeats Leonardtown
Friday, Oct. 30, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN
Leonardtown's Lauren Day spikes the ball past Northern's Jasmine Defilva, left, and Krissy Tretick.
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The Patriots scored the next five points to win the game 25-23 and take a two games-to-none lead, and the eventual 3-1 match victory, 25-14, 25-23, 18-25, 25-15. A win in Game 2 by the Raiders would have tied the match at 1, possibly changing the dynamics of the contest.
"It definitely set the tone for the rest of the match," Northern head coach Devin Hall said of her team's win in Game 2. "Anytime you give a team hope, you make it more difficult on yourself. So, we knew we needed to come out and take that second game because the third game was going to be really, really [difficult]."
The Patriots (13-0, 11-0 SMAC) were led by senior Krissy Tretick's 17 kills on the night, including her six kills in the pivotal Game-2 win.
"It was definitely a huge game for us to win," Tretick said.
Northern did drop only its fourth game of the season in Game 3 of this match, but that played a role in it opening up strong in the deciding Game 4, as it led at one point 19-10 en route to its game, and match, win.
"We knew that we had to pick it up at that point," Tretick said. "We didn't want anything to hit the floor, and wanted to put all we had into it. Our team saying is, ‘Hustle and heart set us apart,' so we definitely tried to bring that to the floor tonight.
"Knowing we can come back against a good team like Leonardtown and just win that fourth game lets us know that we can fight, and that no matter what, we can come out on top."
Northern's Chandler Mass totaled seven of her game-high 30 assists in Game 2, and the sophomore had nine assists in the deciding Game 4 of the contest.
"My hitters are great," Mass said. "We work hard in practice on talking, communication and calling plays and getting in on it. The hitters are good, and hopefully we can keep it going."
Leonardtown (12-2, 10-2) honored its senior members in their last home and regular season match of the year.
And it was only fitting that senior outside hitter Roni Peters knocked home the winning kill in Leonardtown's 25-18, Game-3 victory.
"We really wanted to win tonight," Peters said, "but we played our hardest. We just made a few mistakes."
On her Game-3 winning kill, Peters added: "It felt good. We knew we were down and we needed to pick it up. Normally when you win a game you get the momentum, so it was good to get some momentum."
With the regular season for the Raiders now complete, Leonardtown, along head coach Steve Correll, will now prepare for the Class 4A East region playoffs that are fast approaching.
"We know we can compete with anyone," Correll said. "We can compete with anyone and we are not afraid of anyone.
"Tonight was a good game," Correll added. "It would have been nice if we could have won that second game. I think that was a pivotal point in that game. We had a lead, they came back, and that's a sign of a good team. Northern is a good team. … I am super proud of my girls. We hung in there and just came up short."
Northern, on the other hand, had one final regular-season match remaining in its season, a home contest against county rival Huntingtown, a match that ended too late for inclusion into this edition.
And with this win, Hall and the Patriots have picked up momentum heading into that match.
"Our season shaped up perfectly for this last game," Hall said. "We have had some really tough matches these past two weeks. … We are playing right where we need to be playing right now."
"This was big," Mass said of the win. "Leonardtown is a solid team, and they have only dropped one match this year. … We were already excited about a Huntingtown game, but this just gives us extra momentum going into that."
