Bellevue outlasts Clyde in 5-set win

CLYDE — A five-set match felt a bit inevitable, and even then, 15 points didn't quite get it done. Bellevue and Clyde, rivals and remarkably similar squads, battled it out for more than two hours on Thursday night in Nancy Hanger Gymnasium. In the end, the Lady Red seized a huge victory by scores of 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 20-25, 16-14. It's the second win in as many days for Bellevue (2-4, 1-1 SBC Lake), which has rebounded from a winless start to begin finding its groove. "Oh my gosh, this was amazing," Bellevue junior Brooke Brown said. "The energy and momentum kept switching, and it's great to be able to come out with the win, especially building off the win from yesterday." Lila Krall and Brooke Brown each totaled 11 kills to lead Bellevue. Payton Hicks had 17 assists, with Bailey Fisher adding 13. "It's insane," Krall said. "We're all having so much fun. I'm so proud." The Lady Red's freshman duo, Kate Baptista and Finley LaPata, led the defense with 23 and 18 digs, respectively. It all added up to a victory that got Bellevue right back in the thick of the SBC Lake Division in the early going. "We've been working so hard in the gym on just being a team and making small goals and just doing our part to control the match as much as we can and having that belief in ourselves," Bellevue coach Liana Petitti said. LaPata made the difference in the first set. She took three big swings for kills while adding an ace and a point-ending block. "Early on in the summer, we saw a lot of spunk and care-free play from (LaPata)," Petitti said. "Starting the true season, she got a little hesitant. But with constant encouragement and belief in herself, she's a super reliable player for us." Miki Brown, the senior coming off a big night against Margaretta on Wednesday, whacked four kills, including the set-ender for a Bellevue lead. Clyde (7-2, 1-1) evened the match as Lauren Harrah (19 kills on the night) and Lily Ball (16 kills) each had strong second sets. Bellevue trailed for most of the first half of the third set, but then the Lady Red unlocked the middle. Their passes at the start of points got a bit smoother, freeing Krall and Brooke Brown to dominate. "We just had to calm down a little bit on serve receive," Petitti said. "... We also got our middles more comfortable, getting them slower swings to start the match and then getting warmed up and ready to go." Krall had six kills just in the third set, Brooke Brown added three and the 6-foot-2 Kaitlyn Turinsky, rotating through the right side, ended the set with a kill of her own. "Me and Lila just started swinging," Brooke Brown said. "We've been having trouble lately with confidence and stuff. We just went out there and started swinging and it worked, obviously." Krall kept it going in the fourth, but Clyde middle Cora Liskai got herself going and powered the Fliers toward the fifth. Ball had three of Clyde's final five points with big swings. The fifth set started terribly for Bellevue, which handed Clyde its first four points on miscues. A Brooke Brown block stabilized things a bit, but this was a match that'd be close right to the end. Krall eventually made it 9-7 before two Clyde points tied it. It was tied again at 11, then Bellevue went on a 3-0 run including a Brooke Brown kill. The Fliers got three points back with two aces from DeLani Durst (47 assists, 13 digs). But then Miki Brown tallied her eighth and final kill for point 15, and when a Clyde foot went over the mid-line on the following rally, Bellevue had a reason to celebrate. "I'm really excited to see we go from this," Brooke Brown said. "I can't wait to win some more games." This was a big two days for the Lady Red, who had started off with four very respectable losses but nonetheless needed to feel what it was like to win. "Now they finally believe they can win," Petitti said. "We're just gonna roll with it." It didn't hurt for Bellevue to have such a fun night at Clyde, either. The Lady Red relish rivalry wins like this one. "I was so excited all day," Krall said. "And we came and won. I knew it. I knew we were gonna win."