Northside volleyball takes care of Perry in Class 4A second round

The Northside volleyball team kept its hopes for a Class 4A state title alive with a 25-13, 25-11, 25-12 home victory over Perry.

Caroline Irving recorded 29 assists and four digs in the win. Nevaeh Edwards had seven kills, and Berkleigh Davidson posted 19 digs.

For Northside senior Sarah Baucham, the second round victory justified what has been a grind as far as the team’s consistent work is concerned.

“It felt really good,” Baucham said of advancing. “It proves that hard work really pays off and what we’re doing isn’t for nothing. It’s working for us.”

Though the team advanced, Northside head coach Lindsay Johnson said the team still had plenty to work on.

“I was sort of disappointed in how we came out and played,” Johnson said. “I thought we lost focus a lot, especially serving. We’re still fortunate enough to get the win, but for us to be playing on Saturday, we’ve got to play at a lot higher level.”

After a back-and-forth first set, the Lady Patriots took total control in the second set. The team got out to a 9-3 lead to open the second set, and while some service errors hampered its efforts, the Lady Patriots were able to close it convincing fashion.

Baucham was a big part in the team’s strong second set. After not serving all season, Baucham reeled off four consecutive aces.

“Once we got in the second set, it was like a whole new match,” said Baucham, who finished with five kills and four digs. “We were starting to play at our level rather than down to their level. We knew we had to prepare for what is going to come Saturday and that we had to play faster and play harder.”

Northside plays again Saturday but awaits word on the match’s details. With a quick turnaround ahead, Johnson let her players know the challenges ahead will only get tougher.

“We’re going to play a faster, much bigger team on Saturday,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have to pick up our level of play, but I think we’ll be ready to go.”

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 9:07 PM with the headline "Northside volleyball takes care of Perry in Class 4A second round."