College Park holds off Oak Ridge

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The College Park High School volleyball team shook off a little rust and got focused after spotting the Oak Ridge High School volleyball team the first game of a 3-1 victory on Friday.

In a battle of neighboring District 14-5A rivals, College Park fought off a feisty Lady War Eagles squad for a 16-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22 triumph to take over second place in the league standings. Alyssa McNeely and Emily Thorson led the way at the net with 12 kills apiece while Andi Platt and Hannah Erwin handed out 19 and 14 assists respectively. Platt also added 17 digs and Savannah Rutledge contributed 16 digs.

Oak Ridge (25-8, 5-3) grabbed the first game of the match with precision play and looked to make it a long night for their hosts.

“I definitely think they took advantage of us being off Tuesday and I think it took its toll,” College Park coach Candice Collins said. “It took us a while to get started tonight.”

College Park (19-9, 5-2) was forced to work for every point and long rallies were the rule in a match that lasted nearly two hours.

“Making sure that we stayed composed with everything going on, with Homecoming, and (Oak Ridge) playing as well as they did, this was a really good win for us,” Collins said.

College Park looked to finally shake off its neighbors from across I-45 with a 7-0 start to Game 4. The lead ballooned to 10-1 but Oak Ridge refused to quit. The Lady War Eagles pulled to within a point at 18-17 and again at 20-19 before College Park squeezed out a victory in the final game.

The College Park program has 105 victories and Collins is hoping to break the 200-mark before they take down the net in 2013.

“I plan on getting (200 wins) this season,” Collins said. “It might take a playoff win, but I plan on it.”

The Lady Cavaliers try to get one win closer when they travel to meet Conroe at 6 p.m. Tuesday while Oak Ridge has a bye before hosting Conroe at 6 p.m. Friday.