On the heels of dropping three straight 7A-Central matches and a showdown with Southside looming, Northside coach Matt Waack decided to shake things up.

The moves paid off Tuesday.

Behind a strong hitting performance, the Lady Bears got back on track by posting a three-set sweep against Cabot at Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse. Northside won 25-11, 25-16, 25-14.

“We were just trying to find some answers and see who responds, and I thought they did a pretty good job with that,” Waack said. “I was real happy with my hitting, and the defense and passing was good.

“I didn’t expect this new lineup to have this positive of a showing. ... I feel like a lot of times this year, we’ve been making the mistakes instead of putting the burden on the other team, and every time we got the ball, we found ways to (deliver) from the middle, from the outside. I just actually felt like we were hitting on all cylinders, which was nice.”

The biggest move Waack made was switching senior middle hitter Alexis Evans to the outside and moving junior Nakiah Willis from outside to the middle, a position she has played in the past.

Both responded, as part of a Lady Bear offensive attack which registered a .410 hitting percentage, the highest in Waack’s tenure at Northside.

“It’s not new; I’ve been playing middle since I was about 13 (years old), so it was back to the same thing. ... Just like riding a bicycle,” Willis, who finished with six kills, said.

“I think what helped us (Tuesday) is our diversity because coach changed our lineup and we responded to the diversity well; I think that’s why we were successful and will be more successful in future games.”

Evans finished with 13 kills, and senior outside hitter Chloe Fitzgerald chipped in 11. Sophomore middle hitter Nicole Medlin registered eight kills as well.

“We also started running a 5-1 (offensive set) instead of a 6-2, so I think that just really encouraged all of the girls to work harder because it showed them that our spots are vital and that we can be moved at any time,” Medlin said.

Willis had back-to-back kills early as Northside (8-6-1, 3-3) jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set. She added several kills later as Northside built a double-digit lead, which grew to 14 points (23-9) on Lexie Mosby’s ace.

In the second set, the two teams were tied at 12-all before the Lady Bears went on a 9-1 run to seize control. Evans made several kills during that stretch, and her kill capped the spurt as Northside built a 21-13 advantage.

Northside began the third set by scoring six of the first seven points, and the lead grew to 11, 15-4, as Medlin placed a non-returnable kill which landed just inside the back corner.

Down the stretch, Northside added scoring kills from Shalay Prendergast, Fitzgerald and Medlin, followed by an ace from Taylor Pate for a 24-13 lead.

Fitzgerald, Sydney Green and Jaide Smith each recorded double digits in digs.

The Lady Bears will be at home to face Southside on Thursday.
