Arlee clips Plains in marathon match

Volleyball fans may have missed one of the best matches of the season as Arlee and Plains slugged it out over a five-game marathon that ended with Arlee pulling out a 3-2 win this past week on their home court.

The opening game was all Plains as the Trotters used all the tools to take a 1-0 match lead with a 25-15 win. In so doing, Plains showed solid play at the net and the ability to sustain and win long volleys.

A quick 8-3 lead by the Scarletts in the second game made it seem like Arlee had solved the Plains defense. But by the final points of game two, the Trotters had closed to within two points, 23-21.

Plains would catch home team and tie the score at 24-apiece moments later, only to see Arlee hold on and take the final two points for a 26-24 win and a 1-1 match tie.

Game three was much of the same for both teams which featured three ties that pushed the game into volleyball’s equivalent of overtime when they were knotted at 25-25. This time Plains would take the next two points to sneak away with a 27-25 win and a 2-1 match lead.

The back-and-forth play by both teams continued in the crucial fourth game in which Arlee pulled away from a 23-23 tie and tied the match at two games each with a 25-23 win.

That set up what promised to be a nail-biter to the end. However, Arlee took control early and held off several Trotters charges in taking a 15-10 win and securing the 3-2 match victory.

The loss dropped the Trotters to 0-2 on the new season. They fell 3-0 in their opener to Mission in a game at Plains High School.

Next up for the Trotters is a game tonight (Tuesday) at home against Loyola. Two days later they travel to Troy for a match with the Lady Trojans.