BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Northside Christian Academy had its five-match winning streak ended by visiting First Assembly Christian of Ocala, which defeated the Eagles 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-23) on Sept. 22.
The Eagles (11-3) were coming off a 3-0 win over fellow Starke school Hope Christian. It was the fourth sweep Northside recorded during its winning streak and sixth in eight matches.
Northside, though, got off to a slow start against First Assembly in the first set of the Sept. 22 match. Finley Poyner had two early kills for the Eagles, but First Assembly had two kills and a service ace in scoring five straight points for a 7-2 lead. Northside never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
In the second set, the Eagles scored two straight points with Jodey Garrison serving to tie the score at 4-4. First Assembly responded by scoring seven of the next 10 points. Two kills by Harli Mosley and an ace from Karissa Lawrence helped Northside stay close before First Assembly scored four straight points to go up 19-11.
With First Assembly one point away from the win, Mosley recorded a kill to force side-out. The Eagles, trailing 24-16, then scored four straight points with Lawrence serving. Mosley and Rosalea Norman each had a kill during that span, which also saw Mosley send a free ball over that found a hole in the defense for another point. First Assembly would eventually win on an error.
The visitors built a 7-3 lead in the third set, but it was close throughout. A Lawrence tip and a Poyner kill made it 17-15 in favor of First Assembly. Northside later scored three straight points with Briley Parrish serving to take a 20-19 lead. A Norman kill put the Eagles ahead 21-20, while a Mosley ace later evened the score at 23-23. First Assembly had a kill to force side-out before scoring the winning point on an error.
While the varsity team had its struggles, Northside’s middle-school team defeated First Assembly, continuing a successful week that saw the young Eagles team sweep both Bradford Middle School and Hope Christian on Sept. 20.
