Un-Ranked Northland Christian Wins Thriller
By LSCSN.com

Houston — If the 6th Annual O'Connell Consolidated Gulf Coast Classic proved anything on Saturday it proved there are going to be some exciting district volleyball races in the up-coming weeks. And the TAPPS 5A-4 was already going to be hotly contested with the likes of Houston Lutheran North, Houston Lutheran South and Houston Second Baptist, all of which are in the Top 15.

But now add an un-ranked Houston Northland Christian squad to that battle and TAPPS 5A-4 could be one of the most exciting district races in all of the Lone Star state this season.

The Lady Cougars managed two pool-play wins over No. 15 League City Bay Area Christian on Thursday, and then Northland Christian knocked off No. 8 Katy Faith West in the semi-final round before ousting No. 11 Lutheran North in the finals of Saturday's rain delayed classic.

That's right — a rain-delayed volleyball tournament. Torrential rains fell on Galveston Island on Saturday morning exposing two leaks in the O'Connell Consolidated gymnasium roof. And the two leaks happened to be right over the playing surface, so the event was moved to Houston where after a two-hour delay the matches resumed at No. 9 Lutheran South's gym.

But all of the commotion surrounding the venue move didn't impact the excitement of the Lady Cougars who were eager to show volleyball pundits that not only could they run with the big dogs, but they could actually lead the pack.

After splitting in the opening two games of the championship match, Lutheran North carried the momentum from a game-two win over into the rubber game as the Lady Lions opened with a 3-1 lead behind a couple of unforced NCS errors.

LHN led by two again at 5-3, but from that point on the match never saw a lead more than one until Northland Christian started to make its move late in the game.

Lutheran North sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Bonura put down a kill to tie the game at 8-8, but it was all Northland Christian after that point as the Lady Cougars scored seven of the last eight points and won the game 15-9.

Adriana Pierce and Kate Terry each had kills in the 7-1 run, while Summer Steele came up with a scoring-tip that gave NCS match point at 14-9.

Game one started out much like the final game as LHN opened with a 3-1 lead, but neither squad was able to distance itself from the other. After five ties and four lead changes the Lady Cougars finally took the lead for good at 11-10 on a Lutheran North error, but even at that NCS never led by more than five points (20-15) and eventually clawed out a 25-21 victory.

Facing elimination the Lady Lions came out swinging in game two. Bonura had a pair of kills and a tip, while fellow sophomore Nicole White added two kills as LHN opened up a 5-1 lead. Lutheran North led by as many as four points again at 8-4 before Northland Christian closed the gap to one at 9-8.

The Lady Lions rattled off four straight points, taking a 13-8 lead and forcing NCS head coach Ray Gonzales to burn a timeout. It seemed to work for a moment, but then LHN widen the gap to seven points at 19-12.

Northland Christian didn't go away easily though as the Lady Cougars fought back to within three points at 19-16, which forced LHN head coach Carlene Wolfram off the bench to call her first timeout of the game.

But NCS went on to tie the game at 20-20, but the Lady Lions finished game two with a 5-2 run to win 25-22 forcing the third and deciding game in the champion-ship match.

The Lady Cougars avenged a season-opening loss to Katy Faith West with a 25-21, 25-23 victory over FWA in the semi-finals on Saturday, while Lutheran North rolled past No. 15 League City Bay Area Christian 25-19, 25-18 to move into the finals.

Northland Christian opened bracket play with a convincing 25-14, 25-5 win over the Duchesne Academy, while Lutheran North handled long-time district rival Luth-eran South 25-19, 25-18 in the second match of the day.