Hawks grab comeback win over Fowler

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune

Liberty’s new outside hitter Karsyn Bauer goes up for a kill during Tuesday’s four-set win over Fowler. Bauer led the Hawks with 19 kills after recently moving into the position.

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The Liberty Hawks had to battle through a shaky first set and then reeled off three straight wins for a 3-1 match win over the Fowler Redcats in the newly-formed Northwest Sierra Conference.

The Hawks dropped the first set, 25-21, but won the next three 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 for the match win.

“We’re just inconsistent,” head coach Grant Clark said. “When we’re good, we’re very good. We make mistakes. We’re young. We had some mental lapses. I was proud of how the girls came back tonight. We have two young setters. Emma (Del Toro) has been our setter the whole year, but this is her first year setting, ever. Reagan (Faretta) is just young.”

Newly-minted outside hitter Karsyn Bauer led the Hawks with 19 kills.

“We were telling the setter to set her every chance she had,” head coach Grant Clark said. “We just moved Karsyn to the outside. She is learning it on the fly and she had a heck of a game tonight.”

Rylee Bocchini added 12 kills and Sarah Sinclair had seven. While the Hawks recorded 46 kills, Fowler only had 28 and just 10 with the serve.

The Hawks fell into a quick hole to open the match. Then, Taylor Toschi served the Hawks into the lead. Trailing 3-0 at the beginning and 4-3 when Toschi served, the Hawks scored four straight points. Sinclair recorded a bump kill and combined with Mackey Boatwright for a block for a 7-4 Liberty lead.

Bocchini served up an ace off the net and got a kill from Bauer for an 11-6 lead.

Then, Fowler began to come back. They scored three straight points twice, both after missed Liberty serves. They added a four-point run for a 16-13 lead.

A Bauer kill and a Nevaeh LaMattina solo block helped tie the set at 16. The two teams tied at 18 and 19, after a Sinclair kill. Boatwright put down a quick tip kill for a 20-19 lead.

However, Fowler got the kill on a dump and added three more points for a 23-20 lead. Bauer stopped the run with a back row kill, but a missed serve gave the side out to the Redcats. Liberty hit out of bounds and the Redcats won the first set, 25-21.

In the second set, Del Toro recorded a kill and Bauer added another for a 3-1 lead. Sinclair served up a point, but the Redcats came back to take an 11-9 lead.

Toschi served up a point and Bauer had a side out kill to tie the set at 12. With Ari Aguayo serving, Liberty scored six straight points with Aguayo scoring the final two on aces. LaMattina and Bauer put down kills for an 18-12 lead.

Side out kills from Bauer and Sinclair, and an ace from Jazlyn Perez gave the Hawks a 21-15 lead.

Sinclair got the side out with a push kill and Bauer got a kill from the back row with a soft hit for a 23-17 lead. Fowler hit into the net for set point and had a ball fall on their end for a 25-18 Liberty win.

In the third set, the Redcats jumped out to an 11-5 lead before the Hawks started a comeback.

With Bauer serving, the Hawks scored three straight points with a Sinclair kill off a Toschi assist and a Bocchini solo block that cut the lead to two.

After a Sinclair side out kill, both teams had trouble finding the court. The teams combined for seven out of bounds hits over the next 10 points. Fowler hit two out of bounds to let the Hawks within one.

Fowler then hit out of bounds on three straight points to give the Hawks a 17-16 lead. After Liberty hit out of bounds, Fowler re-claimed the lead with an ace.

Bocchini put down a kill to tie the set, but Liberty hit out of bounds. The Redcats added a kill for a 20-18 lead.

Boatwright got a kill with a bump hit for side out. Toschi served up three straight points with an ace and a Perez quick kill for a 22-20 lead.

Del Toro served up an ace to get to set point. After a Fowler kill, Bauer hit just inside the back line for a 25-22 win.

In the fourth set, Fowler took an early 6-3 lead before Bocchini put down three straight kills to tie the set at six.

Four straight Liberty errors gave the Redcats a 10-6 lead.

Bauer got the side out with a back corner kill. Boatwright put down a kill off a Fowler overpass to cut the lead to two. Liberty hit into the net on back-to-back plays for a 12-8 Fowler lead.

Bauer put down a kill for side out. and Toschi served up two points to cut the lead to one. Fowler got the side out, but Bauer put down another side out kill for the serve.

With Del Toro serving, Bauer put down three kills in a four-point run for a 16-13 lead. Aguayo added a back row kill.

Fowler scored three straight points to tie the set at 15. The teams tied at 17 and 18 before Fowler hit back-to-back balls into the net for a 21-18 Liberty lead.

Bocchini gave the Hawks the serve with a kill off the block. After a side out, Bauer put down a kill and Toschi served up a point to get the Hawks to match point, 24-20.

After the Redcats got a kill, Bauer ended the match with her eight kill of the set for a 25-21 win.