By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Remember the Disney classic “101 Dalmatians” with the Twilight Bark, the canine message chain to pass alerts? Pongo spread the word about the danger of Cruella, even through the London fog.
In this volleyball version, the Bulldogs were doing all the barking while Bedford North Lawrence was lost in a fog during the early stages of Monday night’s clash with Orleans. Trailing by a set, the Stars finally heard the commotion.
After a dismal (or perhaps ruff) start, the Stars answered the distress call, recovering for a four-set triumph over the noisy Dogs. BNL posted a 12-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-16 victory while extending their winning streak to six straight, denying Orleans (11-9) the beauty of an upset-colored coat.
The Stars (11-7) once again flicked the switch when challenged. Orleans came into BNL Fieldhouse with a three-match losing skid, but Callie Alston dominated the opening stanza, both at the net and the service line (scoring 11 straight points for a stunning 17-5 lead). After slogging through the opening moments of the second set, BNL finally showed signs of life.
”You’re balancing between wanting them to stay positive, having fun, but staying focused on what they’re doing,” BNL coach Aaron Wagoner said. “There’s a real line between fun and not being focused. That’s the problem right now. I don’t think we played our game.”
Locked at 10-10 in the second, BNL took control, hammering to an 18-12 lead. Izzy Root smacked down two crackling kills (for 20-12 and 23-15 leads) and Sammie Gratzer added a push point. In the third set, BNL took off again, blasting to a 9-1 advantage.
“We got a little momentum going,” Wagoner said. “The energy did change, even if the focus wasn’t there.”
That run included the best sequences of the night. Root ripped a spike off the block, Trinidy Bailey stuffed down a long pass at the net, Root pushed a point into the deep left corner, Jenna Allen cranked a kill off the blockers, and Bailey did likewise.
In the fourth set, BNL trailed 8-6 before awaking once again. Allen jammed a spike down the line on the left side, Lily Mishler added a kill to end a long rally, and Gratzer smacked down a kill to keep the Bulldogs at bay.
“We started slow, but we try to pick it up,” Allen said. “We’ve had a good groove going. We’re having fun and learning.”
Gratzer paced the attack with 15 kills while Bailey, Root and Allen added 8 each. Bailey totaled 17 digs, with Sara Williams, Allen and Adalynn Bailey chipping in 14 apiece. Mishler had 5 aces.
Orleans kept going to Alston, who got BNL’s attention. The Stars were constantly communicating her whereabouts on the court.
“She’s a very dominant player, a great leader,” Orleans coach Whitney Phillips said. “They were picking up on that, but it didn’t slow her down. She does not play scared.
“We’ve been in a bit of a slump, we had a rough week last week. We talked attitude and leadership, and the girls came out with that mentality to turn things around.”
Orleans will visit Salem on Tuesday. BNL will face a stern test at Bloomington South on Tuesday.
