Sobrato rallies after Game 3 let down to beat Prospect in 4

Sobrato’s dominance in Game 4 against Prospect made it hard to believe one game earlier the Bulldogs struggled to find a rhythm.
But the Sobrato found that rhythm and pulled out a 3-1 win Thursday night, 25-22, 25-10, 21-25, 25-10.
“We really needed this. Coming together, having that fire, having that team unity that we’ve been searching for all season and to have it at home and to know that we can do anything … we’re unstoppable,” said coach Teresa Hodges. “To have that tonight was something that these girls needed.”
Riley Moeder set the tone in the first set, serving up a pair of aces, leading Sobrato to a 5-0 lead aided by Kennedie Schilling with a pair of kills and Siena Schilling with a kill.
“Her serving was amazing. If we didn’t have her serving or her setting, we wouldn’t be this far (along),” Siena said of Moeder.
From there, Siena added two aces of her own and threw down six kills for the set.
“She was on fire tonight,” Moeder said.
But as Hodges was quick to point out, it wasn’t one or two people who helped the run.
“I feel like she set (Moeder) set a tone, but I feel like all the girls set the tone,” Hodeges said. “I don’t feel like any one player shined tonight.”
Ellie Downing had two kills, Stephanie Cloughesy had a key block at the end and Kennedie had an ace to clinch the victory.
That was in stark contrast to what happened in Game 3.
“What I told them was, it was like we walked into the third thinking we already had it,” Hodges said. “We can never walk into a game like that. I let them learn that on their own. When we huddled in the fourth, I told them we have to come out like we did in Game 1.”
Hodges said there was a lack of fire in the third game and a lack of cohesion.
While Sobrato only lost by four, and made a run at the end to almost steal the game, the Bulldogs committed 16 unforced errors giving Prospect a 20-10 lead.
“I think we got a little excited and over compensated and we were like ‘let’s put this down,’ and obviously we did too much,” Siena said.
Before Sobrato could blink, it was down 11-4 thanks to attacks going long, miscommunication that allowed balls to fall and the hitting of Perla Mbumba, who led Prospect with 10 kills.
“I think yes they were pressing, but at the same time, they overthink, a lot. They have to do it this way instead of going up and doing what they know,” Hodges said.
The Bulldogs, however, didn’t go down without a fight.
Sobrato actually outscored Prospect 11-5 down the stretch, but those five points the Bulldogs yielded were all the Panthers needed to force a fourth set.
Sobrato staved off set point for six serves, bringing a 24-16 deficit down to 24-21 before Emily Adams ended things with a kill.
Hodges said she just wanted her team to go through it to see how they responded.
“If they can come out focused and if they can come out ready for anything and move instead of just watching a ball drop and they just go after it, you never know what can happen,” Hodges said. “A ball could go up and we could kill it. You never know what can happen.”
And they responded by coming together as a team and playing like one, she said.
“I think, honestly, we got really hyped up after the first and second (games). Once we lost the third, we realized we really needed to kick it into gear,” Siena said. “I think that fourth game was our true potential and maybe even higher.”
As starkly contrasted the third and fourth games were, so to were the second and third games to each other.
Sobrato opened the second on a 10-1 run as Kennedie served eight service points, Siena had two kills and Moeder had a kill in a 9-0 stretch.
Prospect regained its footing briefly, pulling the deficit down to 11-6, but Sobrato responded in kind.
Downing threw down a kill to end a 5-1 scoring run. Kelsey Gunsky had a kill and an ace in successive serves.
Downing followed with a kill and two aces to bring the lead to 18-7.
Moeder ended things with five service points that included an ace. Siena added two kills and Jenna Fields had one to help close the game out.
The first game was much more of a tightly fought battle, as Sobrato trailed as late as 19-15 before making a push.
Prospect opened by taking a 10-4 lead that eventually became 14-9 midway though the set.
Behind a block by Kacey Seuss, a kill from Gunsky and later an ace, Sobrato took the lead for good.
Downing and Kennedie added kills to give Sobrato a 1-0 lead.
Siena led all hitters with 13 kills and four aces. Kennedie followed with nine kills and Downing added nine kills with three aces.
Sobrato improves to 3-10 overall and 1-1 in Santa Teresa Division play. This was Sobrao’s first win since defeating Leland at the Rosemary Kingston Tournament in Sept. 5.
“We were really playing up in our (nonleague) season and I think that really prepared us for what this season is going to be. We were really playing at a higher level so I think it prepared us for what we’re doing now,” Siena said.
Sobrato will next host Independence Tuesday at 6 p.m.