One set from defeat. Two sets still there to win. Cumberland took both, and Tuesday night ended with the Clippers on the right side of a five-set fight.
The girls varsity volleyball team beat Westerly 3-2 at home October 6. Cumberland won the opener 25-17, then lost two close sets, each 25-22. That left the Clippers needing the next two to keep the win in Cumberland.
There is a difference between having a lead and having an answer when it gets away from you. This time, the answer was a 25-11 fourth set. A three-point loss in each of the previous two sets became a fourteen-point win in the next. The match was even again.
Now came the fifth. A shorter set, with less room to let the other team get away. Cumberland finished it 15-11 and brought the match home.
Darryl Ashilaka put up 29 kills, five aces and five digs. Lyla Parmentier finished with 38 assists, and Mia Mercure added 10 kills. Behind a team result are players doing their part to help bring it home.
Westerly made Cumberland earn this one. Svea Crawford recorded 15 kills, four aces and 10 digs. Ella Reyes had nine kills for the Bulldogs.
Instead, Cumberland left with a reminder it can carry forward: being behind does not settle the result. There was still volleyball to play, and the Clippers made those last two sets count.
Five sets. A comeback. A win for Cumberland.
Score and statistics: Providence Journal, October 7 roundup via AOL.