October 27, 2009
Bees overcome deficit, downs Ferris
Franchely Inoa's serving helped Bayonne overcome a 12-point deficit in the second game.
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By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
BAYONNE – After playing what might have been the worst stretch of the whole season, the Bees responded with a run where they’ve never looked better.
Trailing by 12 in the second game against Ferris, Bayonne responded by winning 20 of the final 26 points to take a 25-18, 25-23 victory in the second round of the Hudson County Tournament.
“It’s the best comeback I’ve ever seen from them,” Bees coach Pat Longo said. “They really fought back hard to come back. They stayed together. They believed in each other and it really said a lot about them.”
“What determines a good team is when you’re down if you’re able to come back and I think we proved that today on the court,” sophomore Franchely Inoa said.
Trailing 17-5 in the second, the Bees comeback began with a Krissia Bernardino kill. Fourth-seeded Bayonne (15-3) was just getting warmed up thanks to the serving of Inoa.
Unfazed by the situation, Inoa and the Bees continued to chip away at the Ferris (19-8) lead. A Zaneta Rusznica kill cut the deficit to five. Two points later Gabrielle Gerace had a kill of her own to make it a 9-0 run. An Inoa ace tied to game at 17-all.
“Once the score was 17-17 I was like ‘ok, we’re back in this game. This is us, we have this.’” Inoa said.
The Bulldogs’ Ronalice Politico stopped the run with a kill to make it 18-17, but not before Inoa had racked up 11 service points and three aces.
“I thought the turning point was Franchely’s serving,” Longo said. “She brought us back. I thought that was the difference. Her placement of the ball and they struggled with the serves. She gave us momentum with those serves.”
Politico had a pair of aces as Ferris scored six of the next eight points after the game was tied. But the Bees had one last stretch in them, scoring the final six points of the match. Gerace put the final touches on the stunning comeback with an ace to end it.
“They know how to win,” Ferris coach Hector Gonzalez said. “That’s the difference between us and Bayonne, they know how to win. But we’re learning.”
Prior to that stretch, it was the Bulldogs who were in complete control. Behind the serving Aileny Santos and the duo of Politico and Cindy Berradett, Ferris reeled off 12 consecutive points to take a 14-3 lead in the second.
Even though the Bees were able to recover from those struggles, they know it will serve as a valuable lesson the rest of the way.
“We’ll definitely work harder, we’ll definitely be more focused,” Rusznica said. “We won’t let us get down like that again, that’s for sure.”
Rusznica finished with four kills and Inoa had a team-best seven kills.. Gerace had five kills and three digs. Bernardino had a team-high 12 assists.
Politico had six kills and a trio of aces for the Bulldogs. Santos had four aces and two blocks. Berradett, a late-season addition who moved from Puerto Rico, added 10 digs, seven kills and a pair of blocks.
The Bees will face off against top-seeded Memorial in the semifinals on Wednesday. Last Wednesday, Bayonne gave the Tigers their lone blemish in conference play this season in a two-set victory.
Ronalice Politico had six kills and three aces for Ferris in defeat.
1st |
2nd |
|
| Ferris (19-8) | 18 |
23 |
| Bayonne (15-3) | 25 |
25 |