Ephrata knocks out Quincy in tie-breaker

Lady Tigers extend season, Lady Jacks finish up

QUINCY — Ephrata swept Quincy in a loser out battle Tuesday, defeating the Lady Jacks 25-11, 25-23, 25-22.

In game two Quincy came out tough, earning a sideout on Ephrata's opening serve and then adding another two points to the scoreboard with serving from Manda Brindle and a hit by Lauren Huxtable to take a 3-0 lead before siding out.

"We played well in the second and third games," said Quincy head coach Jeanne Brindle.

The Lady Jacks continued to play strong and extended the lead to 8-3, forcing Ephrata to call a time out in order to regroup. Regroup they did.

"We wanted to play them (Quincy) on their own court and prove we could beat them," said Ephrata head coach Kim Crown.

Ephrata earned a sideout on the next play and sent Jenna Mayer back to serve. Mayer earned three consecutive points for Ephrata to put the Lady Tigers right back in the thick of the game, trailing 7-8 before siding out on a kill by Quincy's Allison Schaapman. Quincy again pushed their advantage on serve, stretching the lead back to three.

It took two more sideouts for Ephrata to find their groove. On serving by Breanne Duff Ephrata took a one-point lead, making it 16-14 before Quincy could earn a sideout.

The gain of possession was not enough for Quincy to get back in the ball game. The serving of Mayer came in handy for Ephrata again when she served another two points to extend the Lady Tigers' lead to 20-16.

Rachel Tobin earned a kill for the Lady Jacks to earn possession but Quincy could not earn a run until too late in the game. On game point for Ephrata, the Lady Jacks earned their final sideout of the game. Schaapman stepped behind the line to serve for Quincy and earned two points, including one point that was won with a hit from Rebecca Boen before siding out to give Ephrata the game winning point.

In game three it was Ephrata's turn to come out strong.

Duff dumped a ball off to earn a sideout and the serve to begin the game. The Lady Tigers' Casey Tate put Ephrata up 3-0 before Lauren Huxtable earned a sideout on a kill for Quincy.

Two possessions later Huxtable served for a 4-4 tie but the Lady Jacks defense got beat on a tip by Britney Ratigan to return serve to the Lady Tigers. Ephrata took a 10-5 lead and forced Quincy to take a time out.

Brindle took over serving for Quincy and pushed the Lady Jacks to a 13-12 lead before siding out to give Ephrata the game tying point. Both teams continued to battle neck-in-neck, with serving runs by Sarah Thomas for Ephrata and Kimi Goto for Quincy.

With the game tied at 22, Shelly Bright served three points, including one ace to take the match for Ephrata.

"It's hard on the seniors and a lousy way to end the season," Brindle said. "It's been a fun season but we've been really young."

Ratigan earned 10 kills and five digs. Duff had 23 assists, six kills, eight digs and was 14-for-14 serving. Tate was 16-for-16 serving with six digs. Thomas had six kills, three aces and six blocks.

Huxtable had eight kills and seven digs. Schaapman earned seven digs, 10 hits and two kills. Goto had six digs, two kills and was 12-for-12 serving.