By Chris Isenberg

Pflag Correspondent

The Hendrickson Hawks won a hard-fought match against the Lehman Lady Lobos on Friday night. The Lady Hawks lost the first game narrowly 25-19 but came back and won the next three games 25-18, 25-23, and 25-15. They improved their record to 5-7 after facing some tough competition.

“We started a little slow and came on strong to increase our intensity and focus on our teamwork,” Hendrickson coach Nicole Parks said.

The Lobos drew first blood by reeling off six points to take an early lead. The Hawks stormed right back into the game with some timely defense by Brooke Bishop who finished the night with 27 digs. The Lobos managed to stay just ahead of the Hawks in the first game, never giving up the lead. The Lobos opened up a 16-9 lead only to see the Hawks fight back and close the margin 21-16 but the Lobos hung on for the win.

The Lobos lost their momentum as the Hawks served an ace to start the second game. Maranda Vasquez was able to blast several shots at the visitors who seemed to be on their heels. The Hawks seized a 4-0 lead before the Lobos surged back with three points of their own. Hendrickson would score four points and face a time out by the Lobos who were trying to regroup from the Hawks play. The tide shifted for a short time as the Lobos launched a six-point assault thanks to some costly mistakes by the Hawks. The Hawks rallied with senior Brittany Gray providing some outside pressure and pecking away at the Lobos defense to gain the win.

The Lobos started off the next game with a three-point run, which was halted by the Hawks who ran off four points of their own. Zoey Hanrahan was huge in the middle for the Hawks as she came up with 10 kills and two blocks helping key the Hawks dominance. In this third game the two teams would see-saw back and forth trading the lead.

The Lobos had a seven-point run before the Hawks could gain the lead back and get the win.

“I am very proud of my ladies for working together and finishing hard,” stated Parks

Vasquez would work her magic by serving four rockets that the Lobos couldn’t handle including her second ace of the night to start the fourth game. The Hawks took the lead and never looked back as they applied pressure to the visitors finishing the night with a impressive 25-15 win.

“We are still young with seven sophomores on the squad,” Parks said. “We are learning and improving with every match.”