By Nicholas Huenefeld

Special to the Sentinel-Tribune

The Bowling Green High School volleyball team stunned Northview on Thursday, fighting back from a 17-5 deficit in the fourth set to produce a 25-19, 20-25, 25-23, 27-25 victory.

The victory allowed the Bobcats (3-0, 1-0 NLL) to snap a 12-match losing streak to Northview dating back to their last victory in the series on Aug. 31, 2017.

“We knew this was achievable,” BG head coach Deb Mathias said. “We knew we have a good team this year, and we knew that we could go out there and beat Northview.

“(The players) set their minds to it and just wanted to accomplish it, and they went out there and did that tonight.”

In the clinching set, Northview scored the first seven points and led 17-5 following their sixth ace of the frame.

After a timeout, BG responded with two of the next three points.

A kill from Madison Cowan and a pair of aces from Sophie Sheperd then helped the Bobcats reel off seven straight, which pulled them within four and forced a timeout from Northview.

The Bobcats continued the momentum, adding back-to-back points out of the break, including a kill on an overpass from Julia Strum, which forced another Northview timeout.

Another point from BG pulled them within one before a service error ended a 10-0 run – all from Sheperd’s serving.

“Sophie did a heck of a job getting us back in the game,” Mathias said. “She’s a great server. I’m so proud of her that she went out there and rallied everyone behind her.

“As a result, we kind of started building up that momentum and energy. They played together as a team and were relentless.”

Despite Cowan’s 15th termination of the match, Northview tacked on two points and led 21-18.

The Bobcats responded with four of the next five points to tie it at 22 apiece. The spurt included kills from Ruby Suter and Tara Hastings, as well as an ace from Molly Ruthenberg.

The teams then exchanged points until Northview had a set point at 25-24. Cowan responded with back-to-back terminations, and Hastings finished off the match with an ace.

“They refused to let the ball drop,” Mathias said. “They played with heart and intensity. All the things that I preach about and tell them that they need to do on the court, they did them.”

Cowan played an instrumental role in the win, totaling 17 kills, 18 digs, two solo blocks and a pair of aces.

With the match tied at a set apiece, Cowan delivered eight kills in the third frame, including one to put the Bobcats up 24-23 before serving out the final point. She then added four terminations during the fourth-set comeback.

“Madison is just that steady, all-around leader for us,” Mathias said. “She’s our captain … our go-to player. She can serve and does an awesome job on offense. She’s just been relentless in her pursuit to be an amazing all-around player.”

In the opening set, BG used an 8-1 run to open up a 16-12 lead. From there, they led by as many as seven on several occasions before a Northview attack went out of bounds to finish off the set.

The second frame featured the teams splitting the first 14 points before Northview scored nine of the next 12 for a 16-11 advantage. BG managed to pull back within one (20-19) on a termination from Cowan.

The Wildcats, however, finished off the set on a 5-1 run to tie the overall match at one.

Shepherd totaled 15 assists, nine digs and a pair of aces, while Ruthenberg chipped in 13 assists and four digs. Marley Camera added four kills and three blocks, including one solo stuff, while Hanna Heinze contributed 18 digs, two aces and two assists.

“To say that I’m proud of them is an understatement,” Mathias said. “I’m so proud with the way they hung in there throughout this whole match. They just never gave up in that fourth set. They continued to believe in themselves, and they continued to pick up their teammates. “

BG will be back in action at Otsego on Saturday.