Furious fifth game rally sends Tigers back to state

HARLAN— Since her freshmen year, Gabi French has dreamed of leading the Red Oak Tigers to the state tournament in Cedar Rapids. French accomplished that feat last Tuesday night when her final kill clinched Red Oak’s first state volleyball appearance since 2007.

Red Oak needed five sets and had to come back in the fifth set, but they defeated Carroll in Harlan, last Tuesday night, 3-2.
French’s kill gave Red Oak the 17-15 win in the fifth set and ultimately the match.
“This is definitely the way to end the season, going to state,” French said. “We played with heart tonight and we wanted it.”
With both sides tied at two going into the fifth set, Carroll jumped out to a 7-2 lead. Red Oak clawed their way back into the match, eventually tying the set 8-8. Carroll scored three straight points, before Red Oak could score their next point. Red Oak soon found themselves down 13-9.
The Tigers scored five consecutive points to take the lead at 14-13 with a match point opportunity.
“I couldn’t have been more comfortable with the group I had on the floor,” Head Coach Angela Montgomery said. “It was a good group to have out there at that time.”
Carroll scored two points and had their own chance for a match point, but Red Oak responded and took back the lead when French finished with the kill.
French finished the match with 21 kills and 18 digs, leading Red Oak in both categories.
To force a fifth game, Red Oak needed to win the fourth. Both sides battled neck-and-neck, but Red Oak scored three straight points to win the fourth set, 25-23.
Red Oak started the third set with a 5-0 lead, building it to 15-5.  Carroll went on their own 15-5 run and tied the set at 20-20. Both sides traded points, but Carroll won 25-22.
“I don’t know whether their minds were ahead to the end of the game. We were really only at 15,” Montgomery said. “I think we lost focus. There were several times throughout the night where our focus was amazing and that was not one of them.”
Much like in the semifinal against Atlantic, Red Oak lost the first set of the match. Neither side had a lead larger than two points in the first set, until late when Carroll took a 24-21 lead. Red Oak scored two straight points, but it wasn’t enough as Carroll won the set 25-23.
Both sides traded the lead eight times in the second set, but Red Oak jumped out to a 21-17 lead and eventually won 25-23.
“We knew we had to roll in the second game and we did it,” French said.
Setters Rachel Pierson and Adrienne Mahoney finished the match with a combined 16 kills and 46 assists.
Red Oak had 14 serving aces with French and Emily Pierson combining for eight of those assists.
With Regionals out of the way, Red Oak now has to prepare for their state quarterfinal match Mount Vernon, the top ranked team in 3A. The match will start at 7:30 on Wednesday night.