Victory seemed unlikely. Mount Saint Michael were two
sets down and St. Leo’s certainly had the upper hand in the third set,
dominating 9 points to 2. Each time St. Leo’s scored, they pounded the
ground in unison, further intimidating an already shaky Claremorris
team. So how, in these circumstances, did they snatch victory from the
jaws of almost certain defeat?
The first set seemed to suggest two teams who were
equally matched. Michael’s fought point for point against a Leo’s team
whose defence was almost impenetrable, yet Edel Nolan managed to hit
home some impressive spikes. However, as the set drew to a close, they
found themselves unable to finish the job and St Leo’s stormed into the
second set with a 25-22 win in the first set under their belt.
This is where it all went wrong for Claremorris.
Having lost the first set, their nerves took over and their difficulty
settling into the match was evident in a plethora of unforced errors,
despite excellent positioning by Nikki Hanley and impact substitutions
by Lisa McGreal and Jackie Prendergast. They lost the second set 25-19
and hope began to fade for their 200+ supporters.
The third set began in similar fashion but sensing
that they now had nothing to lose – except of course the All-Ireland
Title – the team lifted their game tremendously, aided by the now
deafening cries of their desperate supporters, led by Lisa Brett and
Chloe Hughes. Strategic use of time outs by coach Fionnghuala King saw
the girls finally settle into the match. She no doubt reminded them of
their team mantra – no matter how badly things seem to be going ‘don’t
lose your marbles’. Stephanie Mellet had a great run of serves and made a
stunning save at this crucial point in the set. Aisling Croghan made
some unbelievable hits from the wings and Edel Nolan shone as the
driving force behind Mount St Michael’s incredible comeback. They won
the third set 25-16 and St Leo’s game began to fall apart.
A fear of losing now defined their play, and they
frequently only used two of their three hits, eager to simply get the
ball across the net. Meanwhile, Claremorris grew in confidence, scoring a
resounding victory in the fourth set 25-13.
As it finally dawned that Claremorris could actually
win this match, the excitement and tension in the arena reached fever
pitch, and the daddies on the sideline (Gerry Croghan & Con Nolan)
riled up the crowd, ably assisted by vice-principal Margaret Burke.
However, St Leo’s finally realised that it was still all to play for and
once again their defence, led by Sinead Ruth, became near-impossible to
break down. Edel Nolan made three excellent spikes in a row only to
find each and every one returned. Long rallies defined the 5th
and final set (first to 15 points but the team must win by 2 points)
and every time Claremorris inched ahead St Leo’s reeled them in again.
Finally, however, they reached 14 – 13 and faced their first match
point. Sinead Croghan, whose strength was such a defining feature of her
play up to this point, unfortunately hit the serve long and it was back
to stalemate. Two more match points followed, but Mount St Michael
couldn’t seem to finish Leo’s off. At last, with 2 sets all and 17-16 on
the scoreboard, Nikki Hanley served, raced forward to set the ball and
Edel Nolan spiked the girls to the sweetest victory of their lives. No
wonder, then, she was named Most Valuable Player of the match.
Final score = St Leo’s v’s Mount Saint Michael
25-22, 25-19, 16-25, 13-25, 16-18
Coach: Ms Fionnghuala King
Team: Aisling Croghan (captain)
Sinead Croghan
Edel Nolan (MVP)
Nikki Hanley
April Higgins
Stephanie Mellet
Stephanie Delaney
Jackie Prendergast
Lisa McGreal
Rebecca Kearns
Grainne McNieve
Katie McCormack
Copyright @ http://leavingcertenglish.net/2011/05/sample-newspaper-article/
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