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Fairbanks avenges loss, ties for league lead By Jim Jicha Fairbanks defeated Riverside 15-8, 15-6 to avenge an earlier 15-11, 14-16, 13-15 loss to the Pirates. The teams are now in a virtual tie for first place in the new Northwest Central Conference with a loss apiece. Unlike the earlier match this one did not last long. There were few sideouts and many points were scored on ace serves, errors by the opponents and kills with little volleying. The ceiling was a factor in ending volleys prematurely. For awhile it looked like Riverside was going to run the host Panthers right out of their gym as Rayann Klinger served up the first seven points of the match. The Pirates string was fueled by good passing on their part, a couple of nice tips by Amanda Stevens and Delia Comer, and hitting errors by the Panthers. Fairbanks finally got on the board when Amanda Meddles tip was blocked out of bounds by Riverside. But after Pirate freshman Kelly Ware turned a Panther smash into a nice pass, the Panthers committed another hitting error giving service back to Riverside. The Pirates moved on top 8-1 on a block by Stevens. Fairbanks fans were getting worried, but as it turned out the Pirates would not score again until game two. Erin Burns served up five Panther points on an ace, two kills by Katie Gallagher and hitting errors by the Pirates. After an exchange of sideouts Meredith Whiteside served five more points. She had two aces, including one that landed on the back edge of the line. Monica Renner added two kills. After another exchange of sideouts Renner scored two more points on a kill and a block. Heather Hamilton had an ace to make it 14-8, and Laura Scheiderer's ace ended the game. Scheiderer started game two with another ace. But Comer's kill gave the serve to the Pirates, and they went up 2-1 thanks to Panther mistakes. Fairbanks scored twice only to see Riverside do the same with Comer's ace putting the Pirates back on top. After a kill from Gallagher for a sideout, Whiteside started a Panther mini-rally with an ace. Renner scored when an overpass came her way and a Pirates error put Fairbanks up 6-4. At this juncture came the only long exchange of serves in the entire evening, as the teams recorded seven sideouts. On the last exchange Riverside setter/middle hitter Stevens made a nice tip of an errant pass that was dug off the ceiling. Sophomore Tabatha Renth nailed a kill and, after a Panther hit sailed out, the game was tied at 6. But just as in game one, Fairbanks put together a run, this time to end the match. Whiteside started it off serving five straight points. Mallory Koehn contributed a block, and a spike by Gallagher landed on the line. Burns scored the fifth point on a block after the Pirates dug two previous blocks by her and Whiteside. Stevens found a hole to force a sideout, but Gallagher retorted with a smash that was dug into the ceiling by the defender and ricocheted off the wall. After Gallagher's kill made it 12-6, Burns came up with identical ace serves, in which each was dug into the ceiling and came boomeranging right back at the digger. Gallagher's kill through a double block won the match. Fairbanks will play in the Marysville Invitational this weekend, and return to league action Monday at home against Ridgemont.
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