By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
JAMESVILLE — Beth McCombs and Kara Perry certainly came out blazing for the Bullets.
Unfortunately, for the second straight year, Jamesville saw a magical season come to a close in the second round of the NCHSAA Class 1-A state volleyball playoffs.
Spring Creek was able to knock off the top seed from the Tideland Conference, 28-26, 25-19, 12-25, 29-27, inside a sweltering Jamesville gymnasium on Tuesday.
The Gators (16-4) came in as the second seed from the Carolina Conference. Though the Bullets were playing a lower seed, Jones said her team was mentally prepared to play the “best.”
Jamesville (22-2), which is 37-4 in the last two years, saw its 22-game win streak come to a halt. After opening the season with a loss to Lawrence Academy, the Bullets found their groove and didn’t lose again until last night.
The Bullets and Gators played evenly early in the first game until Spring Creek pulled out to a 14-9 lead. Elizabeth Ange, who finished with 27 service points, rattled off four straight points to give the Bullets a 19-16 lead.
Spring Creek tied it at 19 and there would be seven more ties, including 26-26, before the Gators took the final two points for the win.
Ange continued her hot serving early in the second game to the tune of a 6-1 lead. Spring Creek fought back and eventually built a 19-12 advantage. Jamesville never threatened again as the Gators took a 2-0 lead.
Courtney Leggett, who combined with Tiffany Frey to record 70 sets, stroked two aces en route to an early 5-1 lead to give the Bullets the momentum. Perry, who had 19 points and 18 kills, and McCombs, who tallied 17 kills, began to assert themselves at the net. They helped change a 7-4 game into a 22-11 one. A kill by Ange and another by Perry capped the game, as Jamesville’s 25-12 win pulled the Bullets within a game of the Gators.
That momentum didn’t carry over into the fourth game as the Gators stormed out to a 6-0 lead. Frey pulled Jamesville right back into the game with her serving, cranking off seven consecutive points to give the Bullets a 12-9 lead. Emilie Cooper, who had five kills, helped the cause with a pair of big plays at the net.
Jamesville still led by three, 15-12, before Spring Creek rallied. The Gators tied the game at 15 and the two teams would be tied 11 more times, including 27-27 after a Perry kill. The Gators were able to seize the late momentum, scoring the final two points to win the match and end Jamesville’s season.
It was the final volleyball match for the five seniors — Perry, McCombs, Cooper, Frey and Leggett.