Photo by TRAVIS DAVID | Shakamak's Ayanna Clark reaches back to put a swing on the ball at the net. Clark recorded a match-high in kills while helping the Lady Lakers to a win over North Knox on Thursday.

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BY TRAVIS DAVID

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BICKNELL — Sometimes a team just needs a lift from the fans.

The Shakamak volleyball team received that extra boost Thursday night on the road.

After dropping the second set to host North Knox, a Lady Laker fan started a chant for the team. By the time the Lady Lakers had returned to the court for the third set, the chant reverberated throughout the fan section. 

Shakamak played its most impressive set of the night in the third and slipped past the Warriors in the fourth for a 25-22, 17-25, 25-10, 25-23 win.

The victory moves the Lakers to 7-2 on the season while North Knox falls to 4-8.

“I feel like since our win at Rivet, we have not been as strong as we need to be in our road matches,” Lakers’ coach Emeral Goff stated. “But I thought we made some good progress at times in this match and it’s always nice to get a win on someone else’s court.”

Despite playing without one of its senior leaders in Brynna Collins (slight meniscus tear), North Knox made the night difficult for most of the match.

The Warriors jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead in the opening set after a kill by Keely McMillin followed by a Lakers’ hitting error.

A push to the back corner of the court by Alex McKinley gave the Warriors an 18-17 lead before an ace by Malli Lyons gave the hosts a 20-19 lead.

But the Lakers rallied late as put aways from Brylee Faulk, Ayanna Clark and Bralyn Calvert led the surge. Jordyn Boram also served up an ace during the late rally before Calvert’s kill came on set point.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle in the early and middle parts. The two teams traded points as neither team managed to grab a 2-point lead until a push by Clark gave the Lakers a 15-13 lead.

Then Javen Miller took over for the hosts. The Warrior senior recorded a trio of kills and served up back-to-back aces which led to a 12-2 run to end the second.

Miller finished with a team-best 11 kills to go along with four aces from the service line.

“She is such a huge motivator for our team,” first-year Warriors’ coach Jessica Snyder said of Miller. “She just brings so much energy and motivation for everybody when she makes plays like she did tonight.”

The third set was all Shakamak.

The Lakers scored the first five points of the frame and never allowed North Knox into the set.

Faulk and Clark both put away four shots in the set for the Lakers.

The final set was a near mirror image of the second set. Aside from the Warriors scoring the first four points, neither team pulled away from the other.

The set provided 14 ties and the lead changed sides eight times.

The final tie came when Miller recorded a kill squaring the set at 23-apiece before the Lakers scored the final two for the win.

“I thought we did a good job of staying together throughout the night,” Snyder said of her team. “Even when things got a little messy there in the third set, the girls did a good job of responding. I was sad that we were not able to come out with a win, which I think we could have, but the girls played well.”

Clark led the Lakers’ offensive attack with a match-high 12 kills. The junior in the middle was selective on her shots picking the right time to swing away and when to push to holes in the Warriors’ defense.

“I will say that Ayanna was a beast for us tonight,” Goff said. “She definitely carried us at the net and she is the one I wanted to get the ball to … she killed it finding that tip zone and just made the game a lot more fun for us.”

Faulk had an off night — by her own lofty standards — but still finished with seven kills to go along with 11 digs.

Madelyn Kennett added three kills in the win to go along with 12 digs while Jordyn Boram finished with four kills and a pair of aces.

Jama Ewers (12) and Jaedyn Boram (6) combined for 18 assists

Before the match, Warrior senior Alex McKinley was recognized for recently reaching 1,000 assists in her career. On Thursday, McKinley added a match-high 16 assists to her career total to go along with 16 digs, six kills and a pair of aces.

McMillin (6), Marissa Petelle (5) and Delani Pryor (4) combined for 15 kills in the loss.

Warrior senior Malli Lyons also had a monster night defensively. The libero finished with 41 digs in the match which was one shy of tying the single-match school record held by Jacqueline Alsman (2021).

North Knox freshman Olivia Jones served up an ace in the loss.

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