Carson volleyball a long shot for playoffs

The Northern 4A playoffs just became an almost unreachable goal for Carson's volleyball team.

The Senators fell to 1-5 in Sierra League play after dropping a 19-25, 23-25 and 18-25 decision to Fallon on Thursday night at Morse Burley Gym.

With eight matches left in the regular season, the Senators are going to have to win six or seven to get the fourth and final playoff spot. The job gets considerably tougher when you take into account that Carson still has to play Douglas twice, Damonte Ranch and Manogue, who are considered the top three teams in the league.

"I told the girls that we were going to have to win every match against the non-top three teams and Fallon was one of those teams," Carson coach Justin Malley said. "It's not impossible. I've seen crazier things happen.

"Fallon wanted it more than we did. They played with more energy. I'm very proud of the group that finished. They wanted every point."

The win was a big one for Fallon, which improved to 2-4 in league play.

To win at Carson in any sport is tough" Fallon coach Patty Daum said.

Carson had opportunities to win all three games, but couldn't finish points at critical times.

In the first set, the teams were deadlocked at 3, 4, 5 and 10 before Fallon scored 11 of the next 13 points to grab a 21-12 lead.

Carson gave away three points with a net violation and two service errors. Claire Smith had two kills, while setter Alyssa Meihack and outside hitter Kenyah Brown (5 kills) added one each to spark the Greenwave surge.

The Senators made a comeback, scoring seven of the next eight points to trim the deficit to 22-19. Tiana McAllister-Diggs (4 kills) had a service ace and kill during the comeback and Makayla Drahos added a kill.

Fallon regrouped and closed out the set with three straight points, as Caitlyn Marsh (6 kills) and Brown each contributed a kill.

"We started flat," Malley said. "Even when we were playing OK we were still flat. Errors are going to happen, but I expect there to be energy and there wasn't enough energy."

In the second set, Carson built a 13-11 lead thanks to a service ace by McAllister-Diggs and two by Kendra Krupp, an ace by Elysse Virden plus a kill and block/kill by Jeanette Vansickle, who was the Senators' most consistent performer.

Two tips by Meihack (4 kills) spurred a 6-1 Fallon run and gave the Greenwave a 17-14 lead. Meihack made some great decisions and caught Carson out of position several times with well-placed returns.

Carson wasn't through, however.

Two aces by Vansickle, an ace by Brittany Wyatt, a kill by McAllister-Diggs and kills by Alyson Christl and Drahos gave the Senators a 23-20 advantage. Fallon scored the next five points to close out the set, as Marsh pounded two kills, Miehack contributed a tip and Khaliah Brown added a kill.

"We did what we were doing at the start of the season," Malley said. "It's a weak excuse. We're not able to convert what we do in practice over to a game."

In the final game, Carson enjoyed leads of 13-11, 14-12 and 16-15 before Fallon scored 10 of the last 12 points to close out the match.

"I told my girls that we needed to come out with a little more fire and win one point at a time and see where that takes us," Daum said.