Volleyball: Harrison Outduels Foxes in 5-Game Thriller

With a league title hanging in the balance, Harrison's Jessica Segal setup teammate Lily Stokoe in front of the net with a chance to put what had been a back-and-forth Section I volleyball game away for the hosting Huskies.

Stokoe spiked the ball to the other side, off the hands of a Fox Lane defender and onto the floor, ending a two-hour marathon game between the two rival schools.

Harrison defeated Fox Lane 3-2 on Tuesday night, winning the final game 25-23 after a late run by the Foxes nearly tied the deciding game at 24.

"No one had an advantage at that game," said Segal, a senior. "We just knew it was up to us, we had to put everything we had onto the court."

Before the deciding point, Harrison used a 7 - 1 run to jump ahead 23-17, but Fox Lane reeled off five points in a row to draw within one and force a Harrison timeout.

"That's really volleyball in a nutshell, it's emotional back-and-forth, any team at any moment can go on a little run—next thing you know you're tied and next thing you know you're down," said Harrison Coach Candy Light. "You have to keep yourselves together."

After the timeout, Harrison outscored Fox Lane 2-1 for the victory.

Earlier in the match Harrison jumped ahead in the first game with a 25-15 victory. Fox Lane followed with a 25-18 win in the second. The third game would be huge in this one, as Harrison prevailed for a back-and-forth 28-26 win to jump ahead 2-1.

"It was a big thing," Light said of the critical third game. "When you win one and one, that third game is huge so you don't have to come back."

Fox Lane made that third game even more important when they rallied for a 25-19 win in the fourth game, setting up the decisive game five.

Harrison used two aces by Betsy Sanchez in the final set to build a 10-3 lead before the Foxes battled back to tie the score at 13 behind a Shaire Gadson spike. The score was tied at 16 when Harrison went on their run to jump ahead 23-17, putting Fox Lane's back against the wall.

From there the Foxes rallied, pushing the score to 23-22 before the final Harrison timeout of the game, reminding Harrison of their only loss of the season, a heartbreaker when the Huskies game up a late lead to drop a decisive game five.

"We knew what it felt like last time," said Segal. "We really pushed to have that lead at the end and then we let it go, we knew this time we couldn't let go of it."

The Huskies didn't let go, and with the score 24-23 Segal set up Stokoe for the winning point. The win sets up Harrison for a chance for their second league title in as many years.

"It definitely gives us a boost of confidence that we can bring it together when we need to," said Segal. "That we can fight when we need to."