Spartans sail over Wildcats, 3-1

It was senior night at the Union Court on Tuesday evening. The spectacle of the night was a conference rematch between the Lady Spartans of Union and the Hobbton Lady Wildcats. Their last encounter ended in a three set shutout with Union coming out on top. There were moments of excitement in the game but the Lady Cats just couldn’t contend with The Lady Spartans. Union defeats Hobbton 3-1.

The first set didn’t look good for the Lady Cats as it was unexpectedly lopsided. They appeared completely outmatched as Union manhandled Hobbton in this round. The score, Union victory, 25-6 and the first set 1-0.

The second set out started decently enough for the Cats as they pulled themselves ahead 4-2. A strong volley from both teams ensued until the ball fell on Hobbton’s side to bring Union within one, 4-3. From here, the Lady Spartans would string together six points from Ariyanna Spearman and Morgan Smith who seemingly couldn’t be stopped. The lead changed hands and the Spartans padded the gap, 9-4. However the tempo slowed to a crawl, the Lady Cats took advantage of the Spartans tempo shift and wasted no time. Union started to crack, as their lead quickly shrunk from 8 to 4 with the score 15-11.

With the crowd murmurs, the Spartans seemed to have lost momentum as the Lady Cats silenced the rowdy Spartan section as they came within two, 16-14. This didn’t remain the case, however, as the Spartans picked up six points after the change in possession to make it 20-14. You could see the frustration on the Lady Cats face as Union’s 21st point fell uncontested in the middle of the team. The Lady Spartans handedly walk away with the second set 25-17 and were one away from the sweep, 2-0.

The third set went better for the Lady Cats, though they fell behind early. The Lady Spartans rushed ahead to a four point lead, 5-1. Hobbton picked up some traction and closed the gap, the stout front of Gracie Jones and Presslee Roesch kept Union out while the Cats caught back up, 5-4. Union increased their lead though as solid play and well placed serves put them away ahead of the competition. A highlight note is the strong serve game from Chloe Smith and Cameron Poole. Between the both of them, they had seven aces from serves combined, putting Hobbton further behind, 16-9.

The Lady Cats perseverance proved profitable as they brought themselves back within striking distance at 20-17. That wasn’t enough for them as Lady Cats Kaitlyn Rodriguez, Haley Boone and Abbie Simmons, who provided the bulk of this offense, brought them within one, then tied it all up 24-24. Hobbton would take their first lead of the round after fierce play and a late come back win. Cats take the third in extra points, 26-24 and one behind in the series 2-1.

The fourth set was more competitive in the beginning as they weren’t separated by more than three. The Lady Spartans started to run away with it again at 15-8, but Hobbton put together a nice four point run putting them back within three, 15-12. Just like the last set, the Lady Spartans had a large lead towards the end, 20-14. The Cats, like before, took advantage of the lack of production. They rallied together and mounted an impressive offensive push that brought them within two, 23-21. Hobbton fought but Union would take the next two points rather quickly to seal this round and match. Union takes the set, 25-21, final series score 3-1.

The Hobbton Wildcats as of this writing are 5-10 and are 5th in conference at 1-8. Hobbton is set to travel to North Duplin on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Lady Spartans are 14-4 and second in their conference at 7-2. They will be on the road to take on the conference leader the Neuse Charter Cougars on Thursday at 5:30.