Lowell rallies from two down

Updated: August 25, 2011 10:59PM

WHEATFIELD —  The contingent of Lowell fans brought the atmosphere often experienced at “The Inferno” during Friday night football games. The clinging of cowbells mixed with chants of RDP came from the visitors section at the Kankakee Valley gymnasium on Thursday night.

That support was exactly what the Red Devils needed when Northwest Crossroads Conference action opened up with the Kougars. And much like the intensity experienced on the gridiron, the two rivals fought through a series striking blows.

But, in one of their biggest rally moments of the fall, Lowell returned from 25-22 and 25-19 losses in the first two games to sweep KV in the remaining contests (28-26, 25-22, and 16-14), winning 3-2.

After the whirlwind night of comebacks, both coaches had things that concerned them.

“It’s sad when you can’t be happy with a win like that,” said Lowell coach Kim Kilmer of issues with unforced errors. “It was almost like we weren’t going to show up.”

“As a young team (with five sophomores and three seniors) we’ve got to learn how to close things out,” said KV coach Rick Ashmore.

The Red Devils (6-2, 1-0) entered with experience on their side, anchored by eight seniors and two juniors, but couldn’t gain traction in the first two games. With the pendulum constantly swaying throughout the night, both clubs were also afflicted by errors.

Eventually, though, the Lowell offense found its opening. That moment was in the opening tips of Games 3 and 4. The Devils started both games with 4-0 runs. Even amid some miscues, that momentum propelled the closing ability, which included surviving a 7-0 run by KV (4-4, 0-1) in the fourth game.

“It was a lot of pressure, but I have a lot of confidence in my teammates and they have confidence in me,” said Lowell senior libero Chloe White, who had 33 digs.

RDP extended to senior pride as White’s classmates Anna Sacco and Jessica Sharkey also came through in the clutch. Both had 12 kills in the match. All three contributed in the final game when  Lowell gained the first point and limited KV’s runs to only three.

Even while listing a couple of critiques, Kilmer didn’t look past the heart from either side.

“I mean, I guess what it says is we have heart and can fight through adversity,” she said of her squad, before later adding, “All I can say is KV is amazing, they have a defense that won’t stop.”

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