Crusaders use freshmen help to best Rockets in four sets

Westside: Before the varsity match started, Mya Downing of Coon Rapids-Bayard literally didn’t have a varsity uniform.  

The uniform she wore on Tuesday night against Westside was borrowed from teammate Gracy Johnson, who had made the trip, but was unable to compete because of an illness. 

At the end of the junior varsity matches Downing switched her jv uniform for Johnson’s No. 10 and went on to play in her very first varsity match. 

Johnson’s debut had plenty of ups and downs as the Crusaders were able to down the Rockets 3-1 in a match full of ties and close sets. 

In the first set alone both Ar-We-Va and Coon Rapids-Bayard battled each other to 12 ties, in the end the Crusaders prevailed with a 25-20 victory. 

The second set also featured 12 ties, this time the Crusaders had to erase a late deficit to win 27-25.

Ar-We-Va won the third set 25-20 in a set that featured just two ties. 

In the fourth set the Crusaders and Rockets tied each other four times in the first 14 points, but the Crusaders grabbed a 13-8 lead and went on to win 25-18 to claim the overall match victory.