MIDLAND The Odessa College and Midland College volleyball teams could have skipped the first four sets.
The fifth set had all the drama … and then some.
In a match where both teams disappeared for at least one set, the Lady Wranglers and Lady Chaps watched momentum shift from one side of the net to the other in a nail-biting finale.
Finally, after Midland College saved six match points, visiting Odessa College was able to breathe a sigh of relief after a Lady Chaps’ kill attempt sailed long to give the Lady Wranglers a 19-25, 25-16, 26-10, 11-25, 21-19 victory in Western Junior College Athletic Conference play Wednesday at the Chaparral Center.
No. 10 Odessa College improved to 20-4 overall, 7-1 in conference.
Midland College dropped to 12-7, 5-2.
“It was intense at the end,” Odessa College outside hitter Kayla Williams said. “I was just pretending that it wasn’t.
“When it was 15-15, 16-16, 17-17, I was calm. But then when we would go ahead, I just wanted to finish.”
Williams had three of the first five points for the Lady Wranglers in the final set with a solo block and a pair of kills.
The second put Odessa College up 5-2 and momentum was squarely on the Lady Wranglers’ side of the court.
Until Midland College’s Zoe Fernandez stepped back to serve after a sideout pulled the Lady Chaps within two (5-3).
Fernandez hammered an ace down the line to start a run of six straight points to move Midland College in front, 9-5, in the race to 15.
The Lady Wranglers slowly pulled themselves back into the match, trailing 11-9 after a Lady Chaps’ hitting error.
Dynasty Andrews went back to serve for Odessa College and reeled off four straight points, courtesy of another hitting error by the host and then three straight kills by Ainara Fernandes for 13-11 lead.
A hitting error pulled Midland College within one, but Fernandes hammered a kill off the Lady Chaps’ block for the first match point.
Midland College scored two straight points to tie the match, 14-14, setting off a series of tense sideouts until it was 19-19.
Odessa College’s block then forced a hitting error before the final point sailed long.
>> Follow Lee Scheide on Twitter at @OALeeScheide
