VikingsWinin5

** VOLLEYBALL WINS IN 5 GAMES (August, 2010) **
==Volleyball and vapor pressure. At first glance, the two don’t seem to have much in common — but at Northern Vance, they do. And in Thursday’s five-set thriller against Bunn, the mantra of “212” may have motivated the Vikings in a 3-2 (14-25, 25-18, 26-28, 25-20, 15-11) win. The number represents the boiling point of water and the difference one degree can make. “That’s how they get their motivation,” said April Abbott, who picked up her first win as Northern coach. “It works, because it keeps their focus and I’m glad that that was brought up.” With the match squared at two games for either side, Northern pulled away in a close fifth set by taking a 12-7 lead. Bunn narrowed the advantage to 13-11, but the Vikings grabbed the deciding points on a service fault and an out-of-bounds spike with Katie Wilson serving. Northern improves to 1-1 after a loss to Wake Forest-Rolesville Monday. “They got tired and they figured out how to push through it,” said Abbott. “Now, they’re learning to push through all games. It’s going to end up clicking.” After Bunn pulled out a close win in Set 3, Northern needed a win of its own to keep the match alive. The Vikings maintained control throughout most of the fourth game. The Wildcats got as close as three points late in the set, but Northern rallied to take a 24-17 lead. The Vikings squashed a late run from Bunn and earned the decisive point when the Wildcats failed to handle a bad bounce off the basketball goal that hangs over the court. “Each game, I feel like they gradually got more competitive and aggressive with the ball,” Abbott said. Lauren Abbott led the Vikings’ attack with nine kills, adding three blocks. Wilson had five kills and two aces. Hannah Thompson also had five kills, Abby Wilkerson had four and Kaylin Owen had three. Rebekah Edwards led Northern defensively with 15 digs. With the match squared at one, the third set proved to be a test of endurance. Once Bunn cut a Northern lead to 16-14, neither team ever led by more than two points. The Wildcats got three straight points to take a 24-23 lead, but a Thompson kill tied the game at 24. Bunn broke the tie for good when the Vikings couldn’t return a spike. A kill from Brianna Gadson ended the set, 28-26. “For the most part, it seemed as though both teams were just as competitive,” said Abbott. “One team didn’t outshine the other one, they had to play for every point.” After Bunn dominated the latter half of the first set, the 212 refrain lit a fire under Northern, as the Vikings took the second set in convincing fashion. Abbott said the origins of 212 can be traced to the softball field, where five Viking volleyballers also play. “It looked like they had never seen a ball before and had never played before,” Abbott said of Game 1. “I told them if they didn’t pick it up, they were not going to be happy campers at our next practice.” Northern built a lead as large as nine points in the second before a spike from Edwards ended the frame, 25-18. Abbott said she was impressed with the performance of Lauren Abbott and Wilkerson at the net. “Lauren had some amazing blocks and her confidence and her swinging is getting better,” she said. “Abby Wilkerson stepped up her game a lot today and her arm swing is improving, which is making her hit the ball over the net more consistently.” The Vikings will look to stay hot at home today against Knightdale at 5 p.m. Contact the writer at kholtzman@hendersondispatch.com. Read more: [|The Daily Dispatch - Vikings win in five] === ==