This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Something didn't seem quite right, the way Northridge was beating two-time defending Region 1 champion Fremont on Thursday night.
Sure, visiting Northridge had been ranked in the top five of Class 5A all season, but it seemed to come too easy against the Silver Wolves.
In the end, the Knights did wrap up that region crown — but not until surviving a huge comeback to win 25-16, 25-16, 21-25, 23-25, 15-5.
"We were talking about a Michael Jordan quote, something like 'Some people want to win, some people do what it takes to win,'" Northridge coach Rylee Garver said. "We talked about that right before the fifth game.
"I told them, 'Hey, when we came here, we knew it wasn't going to be easy,'" Garver said. "It wasn't going to be handed to us."
Early on, Northridge (24-4, 11-0) was rolling to victory. With Rachel Parson and Talia Thompson leading the attack from the left, the Knights also got 10 kills and four blocks on the right from sophomore Alo Thompson, Talia's younger sister.
Fremont (15-10, 8-2), which was plagued by service errors in the first two games, got a spark in the third game from outside hitters London Smith and Madeline Vigil. Vigil finished with 30 kills and Smith added 17 as the Silver Wolves got its first lead at 17-16 in the third.
Eventually, the home team forced a deciding fifth. That's when the Parson sisters stepped to the fore and led a decisive 8-1 run to star the final game.
Weber State-bound Rachel Parson, who reeled off 20 kills, put away four spikes in that stretch. Senior setter Marisa Parson also contributed a pair of service aces as Northridge got the early advantage.
"They came out strong with the intensity that was needed," Garver said. "I think we just had to push through."