WARDSVILLE - The roof of Blair Oaks High School's gym played a big role in deciding the outcome of the second set between California and School of the Osage.
"We were perfectly fine with keeping our mouths shut," Osage head coach Travis Squires said with a laugh. "I can't be unhappy for (California) that the right call was made. When you get away with something, that's one thing, but it was a call that should have been made."
With California leading 1-0 and tied at 23 with Osage in the second set, a Lady Indians' player tried to set up the offense but the ball hit the roof awkwardly. That same player played the ball over to the Lady Pintos' side, and the call was missed until the referees got together and made the correct call to give the Lady Pintos a 24-23 advantage.
It's legal for a team to play the ball off the roof, but if the same player that hit the ball to the roof plays it on the way down, that's illegal.
California went on to win the next point and the match in straight sets, 25-14, 25-23 to advance to the semifinals of the Class 3, District 12 Tournament. The Lady Pintos were led on attack by Cameron Meyer with eight kills and Adrienne Strickfaden recorded seven and five blocks.
In the first set, California raced out to a quick 8-1 lead thanks to two kills and a block by Strickfaden, one kill from Meyer and Gracie George a piece and two aces from Emma Bailey.
Bailey had five of the team's nine aces in the contest.
"She's really good about spot serving," California head coach Julie Bailey said. "She can pick up their weaknesses then can hammer at it. She did a good job of serving tonight."
Meyer recorded two kills to push the lead to 11-3, and Emma Bailey had two more aces to give California a 16-9 advantage. Later in the game, Strickfaden had two more kills to help close out the set 25-14.
"I'm so happy now that (Strickfaden is) feeling better, she's able to play at her level," Coach Bailey said. "She's definitely a force at the net. It can be very intimidating when you get her hit or block, then it gets our girls pumped up. We've told her all year that she makes a difference in how the other girls play. She's definitely a leader in that regard."
The Lady Indians were able to rebound early in the second set, jumping out to a 7-4 lead in a set that featured 11 ties. After California tied the game at 8, the set was tied at 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 19 before the Lady Pintos could take the lead, 22-19.
"Definitely volleyball is a game of emotion and it can change from second to second, from point to point, more so in volleyball than any other sport," Coach Bailey said. That was evident in that second set.
Osage tied the game at 23 when the momentum-swinging roof play happened.
California and Osage played less than two weeks ago with California winning in straight sets, too. But Julie Bailey wasn't too happy with how her team attacked in the first game. She wanted them to be more aggressive and attack with power instead of tip plays. Well this time around, the Lady Pintos did that.
"They did a lot more tipping last time and we were kind of ready for that," Squires said. "Their hits were pretty strong, they really set (Meyer) and really set (Strickfaden). (Bailey) went to her strengths, she went to her big hitters."