With the match hanging in the balance and the long-sought-after first win just a point away, Boyd turned to eighth grader Kashlyn Garrett to get the job done.
The youngest Lady Bronco delivered.
Garrett, playing up with the high school team Monday night, fired an ace to finish off a five-set thriller against Lighthouse Christian and send the Lady Broncos into celebration. Boyd won 21-25, 25-17, 24-26, 26-24 and 15-9 to earn its first victory of the season and give first-year coach Emily Davis the first win of her coaching career.
For Davis, the way the Lady Broncos finally broke through made the moment even sweeter.
“I am just so proud of them. They played as a team, and they fought for every single point,” said Davis. “This is exactly what we need to move on and be more successful in our season.”
Boyd had plenty of opportunities Monday to let another match slip away. Instead, the Lady Broncos kept answering.
After dropping the opening set, Boyd responded with one of its most convincing sets of the season. It was much needed as well after Lighthouse swept the previous meeting last week, leaving Boyd uncertain of if it could find a way against its TSIAA foe.
But the Lady Broncos did with solid passing and the front-row hitting across the board in the lineup.
The Lady Broncos were then on the wrong side of a battle in the third, with Lighthouse escaping as a race to 25 turned out to be a war to 26 points that the Lady Lions won.
The Lady Broncos refused to go quietly though. Facing elimination in the fourth, Boyd matched Lighthouse point for point and flipped the script against the home team from the third set. This time, it was the Lady Broncos who battled for and earned the valuable extra points that forced a deciding fifth set.
There would be no need for extra points in the finale.
Boyd took control in the fifth and built the advantage it needed before Garrett stepped behind the service line with the Lady Broncos sitting one point away from their breakthrough. Her ace finished a victory and finally allowed Boyd to celebrate after opening the season with 11 consecutive losses.
“We locked in and worked as a team,” said sophomore Madi Noll.
The team effort Davis and Noll praised showed up throughout the stat sheet.
Brit Ralph led Boyd's balanced attack with seven kills, while Noll and Elly Schoolfield finished with six apiece. Aliyah Searight added five kills and was also a force at the net with a team-high three blocks.
Kariana Ferrell added three kills, an ace and five digs, while Schoolfield complemented her six kills with a block, an ace and five digs. Noll also had an ace and two digs.
Brinlie Greer gave Boyd another boost with three kills and a team-high four aces, while Riley Turner recorded two kills, a block and six digs. Brooke Jernigan led the Lady Broncos with eight digs and Sassy Shay added two. Boyd totaled 33 assists in the victory.
It was the kind of collective performance Davis has been trying to pull out of her young team since taking over the program. Boyd has spent much of the season showing flashes of improvement without having a victory to show for it.
Monday, when the Lady Broncos were pushed to the brink twice, those flashes finally turned into a complete win.
Boyd will try to carry that momentum into a road match Thursday at Cannon County. Action will begin at 5 p.m. with a middle school battle before the high school teams square off at 6 p.m.
