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Panthers mount amazing comeback over Salesian

By Jared Green
Friday October 11, 2002

The St. Mary’s High girls volleyball team, down two games to none against Salesian High on Thursday, pulled off a tremendous comeback that might just have saved their season. 

With their dramatic 10-15, 13-15, 15-12, 18-16, 15-13 win over the Chieftans, the Panthers evened their Bay Shore Athletic League record to 3-3, matching Salesian’s record and staying in the playoff picture. 

The Panthers certainly kept things interesting, throwing away big leads in both the fourth and fifth games before claiming wins. 

St. Mary’s went up 14-10 in the fourth game, and it looked like they would get a fairly easy win. But after fending off game point five times, Salesian came back to tie the score at 15-15. Both teams committed several service errors down the stretch, and only a Brittney Murrey block saved the Panthers from losing both the game and the match. But an ace by Martha Ryan and a Jazmin Pratt kill provided the winning points for St. Mary’s, and the match headed to a final, rally-scoring game. 

With the score knotted at 10-10, the Panthers took control and went up 13-10. But Nicole Senegal brought the Chieftans back with two kills to tie the score again, and the Panthers needed some heroics.  

They came from an unlikely source: middle blocker Natalie Bogan, who had committed 12 errors in the game and been outplayed by Salesian middle blocker Chandra Johnson. Bogan slammed down a kill to reach game point, then blocked Johnson’s spike for the winner. 

Bogan’s main emotion after the game was weariness. 

“I mostly just wanted to go home,” she said. “But this was for the playoffs, and I knew we needed to win. I just made the plays at the end.” 

The first two games were all Salesian. An eight-point run in the first game propelled them to an easy 15-10 win, and they overcame a 13-11 deficit to take the second game and put the Panthers on the ropes. Salesian is the BSAL’s best serving team, and for a while it seemed as if St. Mary’s would never get the ball in attacking position. 

“The first game was just a warmup, and we fell asleep in the second game,” St. Mary’s head coach Cherise Revell said. “But we woke up in plenty of time to win.” 

Co-captains Pratt and Ryan led the Panthers back, combining for 25 kills in the match. The explosive Pratt also had a game-high 16 digs, mostly on spikes from Senegal and Johnson. 

the stretch, and only a Brittney Murrey block saved the Panthers from losing both the game and the match. But an ace by Martha Ryan and a Jazmin Pratt kill provided the winning points for St. Mary’s, and the match headed to a final, rally-scoring game. 

With the score knotted at 10-10, the Panthers took control and went up 13-10. But Nicole Senegal brought the Chieftans back with two kills to tie the score again, and the Panthers needed some heroics.  

They came from an unlikely source: middle blocker Natalie Bogan, who had committed 12 errors in the match and been outplayed by Salesian middle blocker Chandra Johnson. Bogan slammed down a kill to reach game point, then blocked Johnson’s spike for the winner. 

Bogan’s main emotion after the game was weariness. 

“I mostly just wanted to go home,” she said. “But this was for the playoffs, and I knew we needed to win. I just made the plays at the end.” 

The first two games were all Salesian. An eight-point run in the first game propelled them to an easy 15-10 win, and they overcame a 13-11 deficit to take the second game and put the Panthers on the ropes. Salesian is the BSAL’s best serving team, and for a while it seemed as if St. Mary’s would never get the ball in attacking position. 

“The first game was just a warmup, and we fell asleep in the second game,” St. Mary’s head coach Cherise Revell said. “But we woke up in plenty of time to win.” 

Co-captains Pratt and Ryan led the Panthers back, combining for 25 kills in the match. The explosive Pratt also had a game-high 16 digs, mostly on spikes from Senegal and Johnson.