Defeating a team three times in a season is considered one of the more difficult feats to accomplish. Payton found that out on Tuesday night as Northside extended the Grizzlies to three sets before the Mustangs’ run ended with a Payton 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 win in a semifinal matchup at the Class 3A Westinghouse Sectional.
“Not going to lie, beating a team three times is hard,’’ said Payton outside hitter Olivia Rozmus. “You really have to study their tactics, the way they move on the court and try to manipulate what you think they’re going to do and where they’re going to be.’’
The match started like one would expect as the familiar foes battled back and forth. The teams traded points through the middle of the opening set until Northside took a 14-13 lead on a kill by Natalie Loper.
The Mustangs would go on a 6-1 run to extend their lead to 20-14 and the Grizzlies were not able to get back into the set. Loper had two kills in the run and Northside forced Payton into three hitting errors.
Payton (25-11) pulled within 22-20, but after a Northside timeout, freshman libero Isabelle Banez had a kill and an ace and Fallon Konow ended the set with a kill of her own to secure the Mustangs’ opening set win.
Much like the first set, the teams exchanged points to open the second set, matching point after point until Payton took the lead off of a Rozmus’ kill at 15-14.
“It really came down to the fact we had more communication and were more relaxed,’’ said Rozmus about the change in the team’s play from the first set to the second.
Another Rozmus kill caused Northside coach Nicole Flores to call a timeout, but it was too late as the Grizzlies had grabbed a lead they would not relinquish. After the Mustangs made the score 22-20, Payton got another Rozmus kill, a Morgan Barnes kill and an ace by Lena Mickelson to close the set.
The third set was all even until Barnes gave the Grizzlies the lead at 13-12 on a cross-court kill. Mickelson then followed that with three consecutive aces to give Payton a 15-12 lead.
Northside (15-15) was able to cut the lead down to 16-15, however the Grizzlies responded with a 9-4 run to close out the match, sending Payton to yet another sectional final, the team’s fifth in six years.
Rozmus had a match-high 14 kills, while Alina Rosales (eight kills) and Barnes (seven kills) also contributed offensively for Payton. Brittany Broderson had nine kills for Northside.
Michael Wojtychiw 