The Wright City volleyball team played the spoiler role during Christian High School's senior night on Thursday. The Wildcats flexed their muscle on the road, winning in two sets (28-26, 25-23). It was Wright City's second win during a three-game span. After dropping all but one of their first 24 contests, the Wildcats rattled off two wins in a three-day period and almost beat Timberland last Tuesday. "All week we played well," said Hollaway. "Against Timberland on Tuesday night was phenomenal... They played such good defense and were so consistent at the net. It was an amazing game." The Wildcats fell behind 9-4 in the opening set on Thursday. Coach Jennifer Hollaway began to fear her team would fold under the pressure of a deficit. "At first, I started to worry just because we kind of shanked the ball," said Hollaway. "And it seems like our tendency after a couple of bad plays, they all get down. That wasn't the case. They shook it off and continued to play well." Wright City went on a 7-1 run to tie the match at 15-15. The teams traded scores until the Wildcats went ahead 22-21. Trailing 25-24, Christian fired off two unanswered scores to send the match into extra points. "The first couple of points of the first set, our defense was a little down," said Hollaway. "Then they turned it around, and once we were able to pass the ball, we could attack the ball." Senior Kandice Abrolat says the Wildcats welcomed the challenge of winning a close match in extra points. "Those are like the best," said Abrolat, "whenever it's neck-and-neck and the intensity is high and we're playing hard and as a team." While Wright City began the second set on a stronger note, it didn't end up being much less nerve-wracking than the first. The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 advantage. The teams traded leads until Wright City went on a 6-0 run to go ahead 13-8. Christian bounced back to tie the contest at 15-15. The teams would remain deadlocked until the Wildcats scored the final two points to secure the victory. Hollaway says her team achieved its goal of executing an offense. "Our hitters have become very strong throughout the season," said Hollaway. "Whenever we can pass the ball to the setter, we can actually set up our offense, which is very successful." "They did a lot of spot serving tonight," said Hollaway. "Almost every serve was a spot serve, and that was a big benefit for us." Hollaway also acknowledged her team's hustle and the leadership shown by her seniors. "Dawn Jones had some amazing digs," said Hollaway. "She didn't give up on some plays that she could have, and it ended up setting up into successful attacks for us." But the spotlight wasn't exclusively on the upperclassmen. Sophomore Abby McNeill led the charge at the net. "Abby played the net great," said Hollaway. "She was strong blocking, strong attacking, strong serving, had many aces and also played good defense." Junior Jenny Abel says the Wildcats have taken on a different identity over the past couple of weeks. "I think we finally started playing together," said Abel. "I think everybody realizes how much we need each other and to work as a team. Especially, lately, since we realize its the end of the season, the seniors have picked it up a lot."