Warriors survive Loggers in 5

Del Norte High senior Lexie Nelson smashes the ball during a game against Eureka on Thursday night. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

It might not have been pretty in parts but when push came to shove the Warriors shoved right back to earn the crucial win and take sole possession of first in the Big 5 Conference.

Both teams were 3-1 heading into the contest. Now the Warriors are 13-10 overall and 4-1 in the Big 5.

If Del Norte had lost the  game it would have put into serious jeopardy the Warriors’  chances of earning their 21st straight conference crown.

“This was our biggest win of the year,” co-coach Debbie Lorenzi said. “It keeps us in first place.”

Two players who led the way were seniors Lexie Nelson and Kristen DeBacker. Nelson had 12 kills, two blocks for kills, 13 digs and five aces.  Lorenzi said she was proud of how aggressive Nelson was and the way she brought her game up to another level.

 “I think that her desire to beat Eureka was greater than the pain,” co-coach Pablo Lorenzi said.

In front of the home crowd the Warriors came out flat in  game one, losing by 10.

But the team regained their confidence and outplayed the Loggers in games two and three.

In the fourth game it was a back and forth affair.

With Del Norte up 22-21 the Loggers would not go away and took a 24-23 lead. Eureka got the next point to take things to a fifth and deciding game.

In game five it was obvious that the Warriors had no intention of letting this game slip away on their home court and played with a sense of urgency befitting a fifth game.

Up only 12-10 the Warriors put things away by scoring the next three points to earn the hard-fought victory.

Debbie Lorenzi said that while the team started off slow she was  quite proud of the way the girls worked together and were able to earn the win by passing the ball well, “serving tough” and playing together as a team.

She said the entire squad stepped up, and while they struggled at times were able to come through in the end.

Paula Rhodes finished with 18 assists, nine kills and two aces. Brilynn Welch had 14 digs.  Vanessa Alexandre has 19 assists and three aces while Kylee Bruder had four blocks for kills and one kill for the contest.

In the junior varsity game the Warriors cruised to a 25-15, 25-7 win. Head JV coach Erin Louy said she was proud of the way her team dominated and commended Morgan Laney and Marissa Van Dyke for the way they served during the contest.