Northside volleyball handles Baldwin, advances to second round

The Northside volleyball team wasted little time in asserting itself in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament Thursday.

With Caroline Irving serving, Northside scored 20 consecutive points to open the first set. It set the tone for the Lady Patriots, which won the match in three sets, 25-2, 25-5, 25-11.

“Volleyball is such a game of serves and runs,” Northside head coach Lindsay Johnson said. “To not make a service error is a very important thing. At the same time, we’ve got to serve tough at times. She was just getting the ball over the net, and I told her sometimes you’ll make errors (being aggressive).”

Irving was responsible for 15 points over the three sets and also logged 29 assists. Berkleigh Davidson had 18 digs, while Lauren Duncan logged six kills.

Northside returns to the court at 6 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts Perry. Johnson is emphasizing to her players the importance of each moment, even in the opening rounds of the tournament.

“We’ve got to prepare for every team like it’s the state championship,” Johnson said. “I told them that just because we won the area that we’re not done yet. They can’t relax or take off.

“We’ve been coming in every day since we won last week, pushing them to be the best they can be and play for a few more weeks.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2017 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Northside volleyball handles Baldwin, advances to second round."