Volleyball: Goldsboro Turns Back Princeton In Four Sets (PHOTO GALLERY)

Volleyball: Goldsboro Turns Back Princeton In Four Sets (PHOTO GALLERY)

Goldsboro was happy to play the role of spoiler on Tuesday evening against Princeton. Goldsboro defeated the Bulldogs 25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-15 on Princeton’s senior night.

With the win, Goldsboro won its fifth game in a row and remained in the hunt for the Neuse Six 2A Conference title.

“I think in the first go-around, Princeton out hustled us,” Goldsboro head coach Pam Tart said. “The defense was ten times better this time, and that’s what we’ve been working on since the first go-around against Princeton.”

The squads battled back and forth in the first set until Goldsboro took a late 23-19 lead. A kill from Alaina Johnson did cut Goldsboro’s lead down to 23-20, but the Cougars won the next two points to win the first set.

Princeton sprinted out to a 10-3 lead in the second set, but the Cougars started to claw their way back into the set, and a kill from Hallie Brown trimmed the deficit to 22-20, but the Bulldogs managed to hold off the Cougars.

“They started off 7-0 in the second set, so I said ‘you still have to be proud of yourselves,’” Tart said about her team’s effort in the second set.

The third set was another back-and-forth affair, but with the score tied 14-14, the Cougars used an 8-2 run, which was capped off with a kill from Dantzler Bonner, to give Goldsboro a decisive 22-16 advantage.

Goldsboro took care of business in the fourth set, and thanks to back-to-back aces from Brianna Moye, the Cougars pulled ahead 15-6 midway through the fourth set.

The Bulldogs attempted to fight back and cut the Cougars’ lead down to 17-13, but that was as close as the Bulldogs could get, and Goldsboro went on another 8-2 run to seal the victory.

Goldsboro (10-5 overall, 6-1 NSC) has another big Neuse Six 2A Conference matchup against North Johnston (12-6, 5-2) on Thursday. Princeton (4-8, 4-1) entertains Spring Creek (5-10, 3-3).

“It’s senior night for us, so we hope to stay focused and carry that momentum going into the playoffs and the conference tournament,” Tart said.

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