Rockets hand Whips 1st loss

Eight times Monday night the Hampshire girls volleyball team was a point away from landing the big fish, but eight times that fish jumped the hook.

After winning a thrilling first game 29-27, the undefeated Whip-Purs rallied from an early Game 2 deficit of 11-4 to earn match point on one of Amy Wehrs' 12 kills.

But Burlington Central simply refused to lose.

In a display of moxie that embodied the word resilient, the Rockets (16-3, 4-0) staved off 8 match points to win Game 2 in a 33-31 marathon, then won the decisive third game 25-20, thanks to solid serving that put the Whip-Purs defense on its heels and a diversified offense that kept the Hampshire block guessing in the Big Northern East contest at the Purple Palace.

"We've never gone three games before this season, so for us, our mentality was that even if we let down a little bit, which sometimes happens, you just have to keep going strong, stay intense in the game and never give up," Central setter Molly Turk said. "That was our theme today -- never give up. Give it everything you have. That's what we did and it rolled our way tonight."

Central's 8 saved match points came in varied ways: a Rachael Latham kill to the middle of the floor; a Hampshire missed set; a block kill from Latham; 2 booming spikes by sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Holthus, who finished with a match-high 16 kills; a soft spike to open floor by Holthus; a spike to the open, back left corner by Kim Ingraham that evened the score at 30-30; and a service error by Hampshire.

Finally Central's Teresa Krog gave the Rockets their first lead of Game 2 since 15-14 when she deflected a spike off the Hampshire block for a 32-31 lead. The 6-foot-1 senior middle hitter subsequently evened the match at a game apiece by thumping a kill to the middle of the floor between sprawling Hampshire defenders.

"I was so proud of the girls that they just kept on fighting," Central coach Marv Leavitt said of Game 2. "How many times did they have match point? I mean, it was just amazing and we just kept on coming through.

"I think it was a great match to be part of. (Hampshire coach) Karen (Whitehouse), I think, should be extremely proud of her team. If my team would have lost tonight, I would have still been real proud because we played a great team and competed. I know some team lost on the scoreboard, but no one lost in here tonight."

Hampshire had trouble returning serves in Game 3 and again dug itself a hole at the start. The Whip-Purs fell behind 13-6 in Game 1, 11-4 in Game 2 and 11-4 in Game 3. Yet, in all three games the Whips rallied to tie the score.

However, with Game 3 tied 15-15, Burlington Central rattled off 4 straight points on a Holthus smash, a Krog kill set up by a Holthus pass, another spike by Holthus through the Hampshire block and a net violation by the Whips. Hampshire (16-1, 3-1) never inched closer than 3 points again.

Despite the tough loss no player wearing purple walked away feeling blue.

"It was probably the best match we've played this season," said Hampshire senior Jena Karkos, who matched teammate Amy Wehrs' team-best 12 kills. "We've been waiting to play them all season, and we knew it was going to be a good game. We just didn't execute at the end. We knew it was match point but we didn't execute."

Said Whitehouse: "It was fun to come out and see what we could do against them. We'll see them again on their court, so who knows? At least we get to play them again."

The rematch takes place Oct. 10 on Rocket Hill.