This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
When things were going wrong for the Fremont volleyball team on Tuesday, they really went awry.
But leave it to the clutch hitting of one senior, a surprise contribution from another and a whole mess of good serving to pave the way to ultimate victory for the Silverwolves.
Both Davis and Fremont came into the match with undefeated records in Region 1 and it was the visiting 'Wolves who recovered from a two-game deficit to win 23-25, 14-25, 25-11, 25-15, 15-12.
"It feels so good. We knew Davis was going to be a tough match," Fremont senior Whitney Wray said. "We just came out with the mentality that we were a good team and we were going to beat them."
Wray finished with a match-high 16 kills and her steady presence helped right the way for Fremont (13-7, 6-0 in 1-5A) after the visitors were blown out in game two.
Down 11-10 in the fifth game, Wray sent home a kill from the outside and kicked off a 5-1 run to end the match. She dinked one shot in to make the score 14-11 and, after Davis' Madelyn Corelli spiked a winner, Wray crushed one more kill for the victory.
Another big contribution for the 'Wolves came from fellow senior Savannah Lynch, who started playing in regular rotations beginning in game three.
Lynch got a big block tie break the 11-11 tie in the fifth and finished with a total of four kills and two blocks after largely going the first two games without any action at the net.
"Usually she just comes in back row for us, but this week she's been really strong on her blocking in practice," said Fremont coach Kelly Snarr of Lynch. "They (the Darts) have great outside hitters, so I needed a strong blocker out there. We tried her and she did great."
Lynch also was part of a strong serving game as Fremont caused Davis (17-7, 5-1) the same kind of return-service misery that the Silverwolves themselves experienced in Game Two.
"Lately it is (a strength)," Wray said. "Earlier in the season, we were having a little bit of a tough time.
"In practice, that was an area we decided to focus on and we've been getting a lot better at it," she added.
Madeline Vigil and Jessica Snarr had nine kills each for Fremont while the Darts were led by Corelli's 11 putaways.
After fighting its way to a tight first-game win, Davis ran away with the second. A 5-3 lead turned into an 11-point margin when the Darts ripped off a 10-1 run.
Setter Kenzie Nicol had three aces in that game while Katie Scott added two more. But the highlights soon would become rare for the home team.
"I don't know. We just started playing like we were behind and it was a confidence issue," Davis coach Lori Salvo said. "I guess we thought they were just going to lay down and give it to us. Then we just quit playing.
"After they got a game under their belt, they started serving tougher," she added. "Then we got nervous and were playing not to lose."