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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 28, 2005 South Medford High sophomore Tori Glover, at right and senior Marissa Towry, at left, defend against North Medford sophomore Megan Bartling during Thursday�s match. Late surge lifts North Black Tornado rallies from 14-11 deficit in decisive fifth game to secure 12th straight state playoff berth By KEVIN GOFF Mail Tribune There was a bit more at stake than just city bragging rights Thursday night in the South Medford gym. The play on the court reflected as much. But when the dust settled from a thrilling, win-or-go-home volleyball match, it was North Medford that pulled out a 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 24-26, 16-14 victory over South Medford to clinch the Southern Oregon Conference’s fourth and final state-playoff berth in the regular-season finale. The Black Tornado trailed 14-11 in the final game before rattling off final five straight points, capped by a Lauren Berger block that sealed the come- from-behind triumph. "Incredible, I’m on an all-time high right now," said Black Tornado outside hitter Jenna Dohren amidst a mob of celebrating North fans and players. "We just picked it up and played the best when we had to. I had faith that we could do it." Advertisement North Medford (20-13, 8-6 SOC), which dropped a five-game match to South in the first meeting, will make its 12th straight trip to the state playoffs. The Tornado will play at the No. 1 seed from the Midwestern League on Nov. 5 in a first-round playoff game. Getting there meant the senior-less Tornado had to crawl out of the three-point hole and snap its three-match losing streak to rival South. "In rally serve, I really think it’s a miracle that the kids came back," said North coach Ron Beick. "I’m most proud of how they kept their composure after losing that fourth game." The Black Tornado looked dead in the water after a hitting error put the Panthers on the verge of taking the match. Berger, however, slammed down a kill and had two key blocks to ice the comeback. "We were just thinking we can’t let up," said Berger, who finished with 11 kills and four blocks. "I was trying to fire everyone up. We just played point for point." South Medford (10-14, 6-8 SOC), meanwhile, survived its own gut-check moment when the Panthers rallied to stay alive to take Game 4. South used that momentum to build an early 6-2 lead in the fifth game, only to falter at the end. "Being up like that then losing, it’s tough," said Panther coach Adam Wagman. "To North’s credit, I think we got that lead because they stopped being aggressive. In the end, (North) made all the plays." "Ya, I think we got a little timid towards the end tonight," added senior setter Simone Hubbard, who dished a match-high 45 assists. "But we were still playing hard till the end." The Tornado was the aggressor in the early going on senior night for the Panthers. North jumped out to leads of 16-11 and 20-15 in the opener. Erica Schultz, set up by Heidi Siebenlist, slammed home the game point to give the visitors a one-game advantage. The Panthers’ offense, however, started to click in Game 2. Senior right side Marissa Towry tipped in a point for a 15-12 lead and setter Simone Hubbard later assisted on a Chenoa Coviare kill that pushed the bulge to 18-14. Hubbard again found teammate Towry for a monster kill that upped the lead to 23-18 and a North Medford hitting error ended the game and evened the match at one game apiece. The strong play of Berger, Dohren, Megan Bartling and Whitney Hodnett helped the Black Tornado rebound in Game 3 by stifling the Panther hitting attack at the net. In the fourth game, North nudged ahead 24-23 and had Schultz serving for match point. But Hubbard set up senior outside Peggy Thompson for a game-tying kill and Towry scored the go-ahead point on a block and match-tying point on a tip shot assisted by Hubbard. Yet the Tornado would have the final say. Dohren, who played the match of her career, according to Beick, tallied 15 digs and seven kills. Junior libero Rebecca Treger turned in 24 digs, which is second on the all-time North list for a match. Sophomore setter Natalie Lorenz contributed three aces and a team-best 17 assists, while Schultz had nine kills and Hodnett posted eight digs. The Panthers, who lose six seniors from the SOC’s fifth-place team, were led by Towry’s 12 kills, Coviare’s four blocks and Thompson’s 31 digs. Thompson and Coviare also had 10 kills each. Reach reporter Kevin Goff at 776-4483 or e-mail Late surge lifts North ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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