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By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser

 

In a match that took all five sets and was a battle every step of the way, the Thorsby Rebels came away with a 3-2 win (29-27, 23-25, 21-25, 25-15, 15-12) over the Fayetteville Wolves on Monday to win the area tournament championship.

The Rebels got the day started with a sweep of the Lafayette Bulldogs (25-15, 25-6, 25-6) and would be afforded the opportunity to sit and watch the next match as the Bulldogs and Wolves faced off.

With the Wolves knocking off the Bulldogs, the championship matchup was set.

The Wolves jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first set, but with Lauren Wyatt taking over serving duties for the Rebels and thanks in no small part to two kills by Bianca Collins, Thorsby came back to lead the set at 5-4.

Fayetteville came back to tie things up at 8-all, and the two teams battled back and forth through an 11-all tie before the Wolves went on a three-point run to make the score 14-11.

Sydnee Robinson served the Rebels to a 15-all tie, and a kill by Sabrina Ellison gave Thorsby a 16-15 lead.

The lead wouldn’t last long as two straight aces by the Wolves gave Fayetteville the lead back and started a run of eight straight scores between the two teams via an ace.

After the exchange, the Rebels led 23-20.

Again, the lead wouldn’t last as the Wolves battled back to tie things at 23-all, but the Rebels managed to tie things again at 26-all.

With the Wolves serving at 27-all, a kill by Ellison gave Thorsby a one-point lead, and a kill by Collins gave the Rebels a 29-27 win in Set 1.

The Wolves again jumped out to an early 4-0 lead to start the second set and built that lead to 12-6 before the Rebels battled back.

With Zakeya Robinson serving, three straight aces and a kill by Ellison aided in a six-point run by the Rebels to tie the game at 12-all.

Ellison helped the Rebels later with a block and another kill to give Thorsby a 15-13 lead, and Robinson extended that lead to 19-14 with three straight aces.

With the Rebels leading 20-17, a five-point Wolves run gave Fayetteville a one-point lead—a lead that they would see through to the end of the set for a 25-23 win.

Both teams started the third set behind big runs, but a six-point Wolves run put the Rebels in a 12-6 hole.

Mercedes Smith led a five-point Thorsby run to make the score 15-13 as the Rebels continued to battle to a 19-18 Fayetteville lead.

With the Wolves holding serving duties, a three-point Fayetteville run made the score 22-18 as the Wolves went on to a 25-21 win in Set 3.

Collins inherited a 6-4 lead as she took over serving duties for the Rebels and led a six-point run to give Thorsby a 12-5 lead early in the fourth set.

Two aces by Robinson and one by Wyatt aided in the Rebels extending their lead and winning Set 4 easily, 25-15.

With the match tied at two games apiece, a fifth and final set did not start well for the Rebels as the Wolves again jumped out to an early 4-0 lead.

Thorsby cut the deficit to three before Collins led a four-point Rebels run to take a 7-6 lead.

The Wolves again tied the score at 7-all, but three straight points by Thorsby again gave the Rebels the lead at 10-7.

Unwilling to lay down, the Wolves knotted things up at 11-all, but a three-point Thorsby run made the score 14-11 as the Rebels went on to a 15-12 win in the fifth set to claim the match.

Ellison led the Rebels with six kills, three set assists, three aces and eight digs.

Wyatt added six aces and eight digs for Thorsby.

Ellison was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while Wyatt and Erica Hilyer were named to the all-tournament team.

The Rebels will head to Montgomery on Friday for the regional tournament.