LINDEN — Some wins don’t come easy. That was the case for North Montgomery Volleyball on Tuesday when the Chargers hosted Indiana School for the Deaf. The visiting Orioles came in with a 12-4 record on the season and made life difficult on the host Chargers for much of the evening. However the Chargers were able to bear down and take down the Orioles in four sets 25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 25-23.
Even down in set two 20-15, the Chargers were able to score five straight to even the score, but the Orioles scored five out of the last six. After falling in set two the Chargers came out with a different energy and intensity scoring 11 of the first 15 points to lead 11-4 in set three on their way to going up 2-1. In the fourth and final set, the Orioles scored the first four before the Chargers scoring the next five. After that it was a seesaw affair until the end and the Chargers were able to hang on to secure the win.
“A win is a win and we’ll take it,” Charger coach Taylor Dyson said. “We’re still aiming for that consistency right now because it seems like we can’t get off this roller coaster that we’re on. That loss in the second set I think lit a fire underneath them. You don’t like to see a fire be lit that, but sometimes that’s what it takes for them to go out there and be able to put a team away.”
Ella Fritzen led the way for the Chargers with eight kills on the night Annabel Anderson finished with six of her own. Piper Ramey tallied 24 assists with Ayden Braun leading the team with eight digs and Anderson adding in six. Fritzen rounded out her night with four aces in Charger win.
North Montgomery improves to 5-9 on the season with the win and has arguably the biggest game of its season on Thursday. The Chargers will host county rival Crawfordsville and with a Charger win, would secure its first county title since 2017. The Athenians are coming in off a five-set loss to North Putnam on Tuesday. Dyson knows the importance of what Thursday means as she looks to guide her team towards a county title.
“These girls don’t need any extra motivation for what’s at stake on Thursday,” she said. “We just have to stay consistent. That’s been our message all year. I know the girls will be excited and they’ll have to bring that energy and effort that I know they can bring to the court.”
