By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – What else could happen? Bedford North Lawrence has become the poster program for Murphy’s Law. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But sometimes, two wrongs can make a right. And breaking that law was the right thing to do.
Facing more adversity, with a starter sidelined by illness and another by injury, the Stars found a way to adapt and overcome while conquering Lanesville with a three-set sweep on Thursday night. With two freshmen on the floor during the final two sets, BNL battled to a 25-15, 25-12, 26-24 victory.
Despite subtractions and shuffling, even with libero Kendlyn Alvey absent with illness, even with senior Isabelle Harding handling a headache (courtesy of a teammate’s inadvertent elbow), the Stars scratched and clawed to end a three-match losing streak. Murphy’s Law usually happens at the worst time, but this win came at the best.
“We’ve had the most unconventional season so far,” BNL coach Whitney Carroll said. “Every week we have changes. This feels really good.”
The kids were cool. Camryn Anderson was the lone senior on the floor, and she certainly contributed with 16 defensive digs and 11 kills. But the story was the three sophomores and two rookies (Zoey Shelton and Fallyn Johnson) who were forced to age quickly.
“It’s the fact we pulled that out, and nobody was scared,” Carroll said. “They were making big-time plays right up there with our big dogs. It was a cool thing to see.”
BNL (5-8) had little trouble with the Eagles during the first two sets, even after Harding got rocked by Sammie Gratzer’s elbow while the tandem worked for a block at the net. But in the third, Lanesville (9-4) pushed the Stars to the brink. That’s when Gratzer took control. Every time BNL needed a play, she delivered, recording five spikes for huge points.
Gratzer’s timeline: kill for 19-17, kill for 20-17, kill for 23-23, kill for 26-25. And finally, a spike off blockers for match point. She finished with 18 kills.
BNL also got contributions from Trinidy Bailey (15 digs), Sara Williams (10 digs), Suttyn Alvey (an 8-point service run in the first set) and Shelton (7 kills). The situation might have rattled them in pregame warmups, but they responded when the ball went airborne.
“They know they can fight through adversity,” Carroll said. “We’ve had a ton of it this year. They were incredible.”
BNL will visit Mooresville on Saturday.
