It is said that volleyball is a game of runs. The timing of these runs can determine whether a team wins or loses.
That was the case Wednesday in Young’s 25-23, 15-25, 25-16 Public League Tournament semifinal win over Payton. Young got out to a 6-0 lead in Game 1 and held off every scare Payton put into the Dolphins to emerge victorious.

Down 20-14, a kill by sophomore Olivia Rozmus started a 5-1 run to get the Grizzlies to within two, but the Dolphins (18-9) forced Payton into some key errors and finished off the set with a big kill from Gabriella Rodriguez.

“We knew it was going to be a hard match, because we know Payton is a great team,’’ said Young’s Molly McGrath, who had two kills in the set. “We played them tough the first time we played [a three-set Payton win]. So we knew we could hang with them. We’ve gotten a lot better since then too. More confident and comfortable.’’

Like Young did in Game 1, Payton got off to a fast start in Game 2 and never took the pedal off the metal. The Grizzlies got off to an 8-2 lead, led by two kills apiece from Rozmus and Morgan Barnes.

After the Dolphins went on a small run to cut the Payton lead to 10-7, Alyssa Estrada went to the service line and led the Grizzlies to a 15-7 lead. Young never recovered.

Like Game 1, Young got off to a quick start, scoring seven of the set’s first nine points, building a lead the Grizzlies would not be able to shrink. Young forced Payton into 10 errors in the set.

Rozmus led Payton (22-10) with 10 kills, while Gabrielle Rodriguez had four for Young.

“It’s a little sad having to play Payton in the semifinals, but we put ourselves in this position by our previous play,’’ McGrath, who finished with three kills, said. “We can only play who is in front of us and we know we’ll be prepared for whoever that is.’’

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