Garnets Beat Tigers for First Win of Season

The Rye Garnets volleyball team is no longer winless after defeating the visiting Mamaroneck Tigers in five games Monday.

The Garnets lost the first two games 25-16 but regained focus with the third, fourth, and fifth games 25-20, 25-23 and 25-24.

"It's nice for the girls to win and get a victory," said Rye Coach Jason Friesen.

The Garnets came into the afternoon on a nine-game losing streak, but are now 1-9 overall.

Friesen said his players' positive attitude and hard work on the court helped them finally get a win. He said Monday's win was a confidence booster for his team.

"That paid off today." he said. "The future is bright." 

Mamaroneck Coach Dina Borbon said the game could have gone either way.

"It was very competitive because we're evenly matched," she said.

The Garnets were neck and neck with the Tigers in the first game, eventually tying it at 6-6 and going ahead 10-6 before the Tigers came back to limit the Garnets to 16 points in their nine-point loss, 25-16.

The Garnets held a 3-1 lead early in the second game before going up again 6-4. A fault at the net led to the Tigers regaining control of the lead to stay ahead 14-7. The Tigers then went up 22-13, eventually prevailing 25-16 for the Garnets second loss.

Down 4-0 at the beginning of the third game, the Garnets tied the Tigers at 6-6. It continued to be back and forth until the Garnets went ahead 12-9 thanks to junior Nataliya Owens' serve.

The Garnets continued to lead until the Tigers attempted to close out the game, tying it at 15-15 and then 19-19 before the Garnets went up for good en route to the 25-20 game three victory.

With the focus now on forcing a fifth game in an attempt to win the match, the Garnets did just this, overcoming several ties from the Tigers to prevail 25-23 in the fourth game after overcoming a 23-19 deficit.

It continued to be neck and neck all the way until the last play went over the net. The Garnets went up 3-1 and 9-6 early on before the Tigers led 12-9.

The Garnets then tied it once more at 15-15, before regaining the lead at 16-15 and forcing a Tigers' timeout.  In a crazy finish,  the Garnets tied it at 24-24 thanks to a Tigers' fault over the net for the 25-24 victory.

Senior captain Indeia Scarfone led the Garnets with 21 digs and nine kills to go along with two assists. Lauren Creadore also had nine kills along with eight digs. Gianna Paganelli and Owens had 12 digs while Paganelli also had two blocks.

Sarah Fedorchick led the Tigers with ten kills. Libero Brittany Jackson had 22 digs while Demi Carrero had 13 assists.

The Garnets will go for their second victory of the season when they host Horace Greeley Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. while the Tigers will be looking for their third win when they host Scarsdale at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.