APA gets revenge against Cary Christian, wins in straight sets

By Junious Smith III

Arendell Parrott certainly learned from its mistakes Tuesday.

The Patriots dominated throughout their 25-10, 25-20, 25-15 victory over Cary Christian, avenging a five-set loss to the Knights (13-8) on Sept. 19 despite having a 2-0 lead. This time around, APA (15-3) never let up while winning its fourth straight contest.

“We made some adjustments in this one,” Patriots coach David Barnes said. “Mackenzie Pope is the best setter in the state and last time we had her doing more attacking. This time around, she went back to setting, which helps Alli Grant Avery, Virginia Edmondson and our other hitters. If you give Mackenzie a good pass, you can almost guarantee a great set.

“We did a lot of film study — we knew where (Cary Christian) would be defensively and did our best to bottle up (the Knights’ Brianna Frazilus). She’s a great player, and we were able to work our defense to perfection. We also served well and passed well, which is our bread and butter.”

The Patriots exploded in the first set, racking up 12 kills — half by Alli Grant Avery, to go with her three blocks. Pope and Edmondson each had three kills and Pope provided a trio of aces.

“We were more confident,” Edmondson said about the team’s early flurry. “We were ready to play from the go and wanted it really bad.”

Pope said she felt more comfortable in her role Tuesday, even though she was able to make her presence felt above the net at times.

“I’ve always set, so hitting more has been a bit of an adjustment,” Pope said. “Going back into the setter role helped me get back into a groove, and more consistent.”

The Knights jumped out to a 3-1 lead after a Frazilus block, but the Patriots followed with a 7-1 run — highlighted by a Lauren Richardson ace and Avery kill — and never trailed in the set again. Avery added five more kills in the second set before getting the team’s first two points with spikes in the third. APA jumped out to an 8-3 lead and while Frazilus’ kill brought the Knights within 10-7, an 8-1 run highlighted by an Avery kill and two Pope aces effectively ended the game.

 “Last time we played them, we (weren’t) very focused (or) confident,” Avery said. “We worked on what we could control and we brought it tonight.”