TRINITY — Mitchell clawed back from two games down and overcame the late-match loss of its top hitter Tuesday to hand Fivay its first loss, 20-25, 18-25, 25-14, 25-14, 15-13.
Mustangs senior Daniele Green (12 kills) was injured at the height of the fifth-game drama as Fivay had wiped out a 7-1 margin to make it 10-10. During one of the longest points Green was run into by a teammate, hurting her shoulder. The point had to be replayed and Green was done for the night.
Mitchell (6-5) took the point, then after one of several deft shots by senior Shayna Filippelli led 12-10. Fivay answered, tying it at 13 on Jordyn Mattos’ misdirection shot. That’s when Nicole Fletcher — stepping into Green’s spot — came up with the go-ahead shot, and a Falcons error ended the match.
“It’s disappointing. We didn’t play up to our potential and didn’t run the attack like we needed to,” said Falcons coach Nikki Pollock, whose team was hoping to cement itself as tops in Pasco County.
Mitchell entered with a .500 mark mostly due to a 1-4 stretch at a tough weekend tournament in Clearwater. Though the Mustangs lost the second game, momentum started to turn when Ryleigh Hill dove for a dig to prolong a point when it was 24-15 Fivay.
“That energy, that hustling is what brought us back into the match,” Filippelli said.
Also providing a key mid-match lift was defensive specialist Emily Kerns, whom Mitchell coach Keith Paulk started keeping in for half the rotation.
“The first two sets we really dictated the points, either we’d get a kill or hit it out,” Paulk said. “We were a little frantic and frustrated. Emily helped settle things down a bit.”
Only six of Fivay’s 25 points in the second game came on a kill.
Fivay (3-1) lost Briannah Nemetz, who had the last four of those second-game kills and seven overall, to a shoulder injury. Sophomore Amber Lake took over, recording eight kills in the final two games.
A pair of 6-foot sophomores had big moments for Mitchell. Bailey Sassatelli had five solo blocks and assisted on two others, with two blocks coming as Mitchell built its final-game lead. Kayla Widera took control of the fourth game with three blocks.