CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Northwest Vikings traveled to West Creek High School for a District 14-4A volleyball matchup with the Coyotes on Thursday. The Coyotes took a convincing two sets to none lead before Northwest stormed back to reverse sweep the Coyotes and win the match in five sets, 3-2.

Early on, it couldn’t go wrong for the Coyotes. West Creek won the first two sets convincingly, 25-10 and 25-13, highlighted by some thunderous kills from Olyvia Holloway. Heading into the third set, it seemed like a near formality for a Coyote win, but the Vikings did not go down quietly. Jumping out to an 18-3 lead in the third set, and eventually winning it 25-8, Northwest flipped the match on its head in the blink of an eye.

“We were down bad, but they buckled down and got it right,” said Northwest head coach Brianna Campbell. “I’m big on not taking timeouts early on, and that may cost us, but at the end of the day, the players have to pull themselves back into it. They fixed it, and they showed how much they wanted it.”

The fourth set was a close one, but Northwest ended up pulling away late for a 25-20 win and all of a sudden, a game that looked like a sweep was headed to a fifth set.

The Vikings took an 8-1 lead in the fifth set, but West Creek wasn’t about to make it easy for them. The Coyotes stormed back within two, bringing the score to 14-12 at one point, but a shot from Alyssa Scholma sealed the deal, and the Vikings completed the reverse sweep, 15-12.

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“It’s always an emotional high-energy game when these two teams get together,” said West Creek head coach Sarah Rike. “I’m really proud of my girls, but we got into a rut. They eventually battled back, but it was too little too late. Northwest did a great job today, so credit to them, but we just have to go back, watch film, and see what was different in those last three sets.”

The Vikings earned not only an inner-city win, but a district victory as well.

“Our girls pushed hard and earned it,” Campbell told Clarksville Now. “We don’t need to start that slow so we’re not in that situation again, but I’m proud of how they fought and wanted it more. We need to keep the energy up, keep pushing, and use this as a catapulting point.”

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