Ardrey Kell volleyball beats rival Providence High 3-1

The Ardrey Kell volleyball team overcame a late push from Providence High to beat the rival Panthers 3-1 (25-11, 25-17, 25-27, 26-24) Tuesday at Ardrey Kell.

The win keeps the Knights at the top of the Southwestern 4A conference.

“It’s always been a big rivalry,” Ardrey Kell senior Caitlin Watkins said. “But it’s definitely not over because we play them again (at Providence in October).”

With the win, Ardrey Kell is 14-0 on the season and 7-0 in conference play. The Knights have yet to be pushed to a fifth game this season.

Ardrey Kell made the first game look easy, jumping out to a 12-3 lead and cruising to a 25-11 win.

“We needed to make a stand,” Ardrey Kell coach Zoe Bell said about her team’s strong start. “When we get ball control I’ve got hitters that can put it away.”

Providence (8-3, 5-2 SW4A) fought back in the second game, taking a 15-14 lead after three straight blocks by senior Emily Franklin. Ardrey Kell then scored five unanswered points to pull away and beat Providence 25-17 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Knights had a 7-2 lead early in the third game before Providence started working its way back. Ardrey Kell still led late at 23-19, but five-straight points by the Panthers gave Providence a 24-23 lead and game point.

“They’re a team that plays under pressure,” said Providence coach Amanda McGowan.

Ardrey Kell was able to fight off two game points but eventually fell to Providence 27-25 in the third game.

“I think we got a little passive,” Bell said about the third game. “That’s too good of a team to become passive on.”

The fourth game was also close, with the two teams never separated by more than four points. Providence had game point at 24-23 and a chance to force a fifth set, but Ardrey Kell scored three straight points, capped by a kill from senior Rachel Eppley, to win the game 26-24 and match 3-1.

“We could have played better,” said McGowan. “We should have closed out the game and went on to game five.”

Eppley had 12 kills for the Knights. Ardrey Kell was led by Watkins with 18 kills and senior Madison Wauchope had 13 kills. Junior setter Lily Duggan had 50 assists for Ardrey Kell.

Casey Rieger lead Providence with 15 kills.

Eppley credited a large and loud group of Ardrey Kell students with helping to give the Knights a true home court advantage.

“They’re the best fans we’ve had,” she said.

Inscoe: 704-358-5923; Twitter: @CoreyInscoe