Rock-a-noos rally for big win over Bears

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Rock-a-noos rally for big win over Bears

By Cody Pastorella

The Port Arthur News

The Port Neches-Groves Indians overcame a 2-0 deficit in their 3-2 win over the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bears at the Reservation on Tuesday night.

Christine Sticktich set the pace early for the Bears by picking up 12 of her 22 kills in the first two games of the match. Just a sophomore, Sticktich led all players with kills and also added two aces and a pair of blocks for LC-M.

Sticktich was not enough down the stretch as the Indians took Game 3 25-15, narrowed out a 25-23 win in Game 4 and then slammed the door in Game 5 by making quick work with the Bears with a score of 15-6.

PN-G head coach Barbara Comeaux said coming back like her team did was very emotional for her to watch.

“I kept telling them not to quit and they didn’t,†she said. “We were playing so tight in those first two games but whenever we started putting some pressure on them, we loosened up and started to play with more confidence.â€

After the Indians ran away with Game 3, Game 4 proved to be the turning point for the match. PN-G was up 7-1 before LC-M stormed back to tie things up at 7-7. The Indians then went on another run, scoring eight of the next 10 points to build a 15-9 lead.

The Bears fought back again, however. They clawed back to an 18-18 tie. A few moments later, after Sticktich slammed home a kill, the score was 21-19 in the Bears favor.

But the Indians scored six of the final eight points with much thanks to Kayla Prasnicki, who had 18 kills and four blocks on the night.

Sami Jo William’s led the Indians with 15 points and Brandi Guidry had 42 assists on the night.

The Indians, who finished second in the Santa Fe Tournament over the weekend, improved to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in district, while the Bears fall to 8-9 overall and 1-1 in district play.

In other volleyball action, District 21-3A started league play Tuesday night. Bridge City picked up a win over Hardin Jefferson to improve to 7-8 overall and 1-0 in district. HJ fell to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in district. Silsbee beat Orangefield to improve to 8-9 overall and 1-0 in district. With the loss, Orangefield falls to 6-9 overall and 0-1 in district play.

The Memorial Titans will be in action Thursday during the YMBL Tournament at Ozen in Beaumont. The Titans will face Crosby at 9 a.m. to start the tournament. The Titans will also be in action on Friday when they host Channel View at home for their first district game.