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GREENWICH, Conn. In a contest Friday of two evenly matched girls volleyball teams, Greenwich High nipped Staples High in five grueling and thrilling games, 3-2.
The scores were 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 25-23 and 15-11.
The two undefeated teams fought toe-to-toe in a potential preview of a postseason showdown. The lead changed hands at least five times in the first, third and fourth games and changed three times in the final game.
I said to [Staples head coach ] John [Sherpo] before the match, I think this is going to be a good one. And it was, Greenwich head coach Steve Lapham said. They were all close games, and it just came down to a couple breaks and couple bounces.
Ebba Mark led the Cardinals with 11 kills, nine aces and 22 service points. Jenny Cespedes was right behind, racking up 11 kills, seven aces and 20 service points.
Liza Johnson contributed 13 kills and three aces. Xanthi Katsigiannis added 25 assists and seven digs.
[The win] gives the girls excitement before you get to the playoffs. You need that, Lapham said. To get a win here at Staples at this stage of the season is big. This was probably one of the best matches youll see all season.
Greenwich was blowing out Staples in the second game, 15-3, but the Wreckers finished strong to gain momentum. Staples erased a 17-9 Greenwich lead in the third game to pull ahead but could not finish off the Cardinals.
Staples had a 21-20 lead in game four, but Greenwich finished on a 5-3 run to force the deciding game five. The lead changed hands three times early, but Greenwich pulled away to grab the victory.
Greenwich (3-0) travels to Danbury on Monday for a 4 p.m. match.
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