By Eric Avissar
Robinson High School Senior

Robinson, following a resounding four-game win over Stone Bridge to open its home schedule and then a tough, 3-0 loss to Herndon, strove to both bounce back and build a home-court advantage Thursday night against visiting Lee. The Rams were able to do so in a lopsided margin, winning 25-12, 25-17, 25-10 by setting the tone from the very first point with a service ace from senior Bailey Banks.

"Last night we traveled to Herndon, and we felt kind of dead out there without big offense and no fan support," said Robinson senior Marian Dougherty. "Winning tonight was a great way to bounce back, with the help of fan support."

The Rams (3-2 overall) were able to force their spikes over with little resistance from the Lancers. A spike from Dougherty gave Robinson a 6-2 lead and provided early momentum. That was echoing by a spike from sophomore Susie Murach that hit both the net and opposing player on a shot that seemed to lose very little velocity as it sped to the ground.

With the Rams running away with a 17-8 lead, it appeared the Lancers might not come out of the first game with double-digit points, but a couple of miss-communications on the Robinson side brought the game score within 17-10. Eventually though, the Rams were able to seal the first-game victory on the strength of 12 kills.

The second game provided the closest action between the two squads as Lee jumped to an early, 9-6 lead. But the Rams regrouped almost instantly, and forced Lee to call a time out after yielding five consecutive points that gave the Rams a 13-10 lead.

Soon after the time out was called the referee checked over at the scorers table to resolve a scoreboard conflict, while the home team danced to the cheers of the junior varsity team sitting in the bleachers, underscoring the happy-go-lucky attitude of the squad despite only holding a three-point lead. up by a three point lead.

With the Rams seeking to pull away in the second game, Dougherty provided a boost in the form of a hard spike to widen the scoring margin to 20-15. With Lee down 16-24 at game point, a Lee sophomore provided the Lancers their play of the night by digging an enormous spike from Rams' senior Candice Tussing that drew the rare praise from the home crowd.  

The third game went in Robinson's favor as the Rams won points with long rallies turned into errors, a spike from Banks placed cross-court with deft touch, a string of two consecutive aces and two consecutive spikes. The Rams were eventually able to sub in each of their players after attaining an 18-7 lead, and the conclusion of the match went on quietly as the Lancers double-hit the ball into the net at match point.

The Rams were led offensively by Murach (13 kills) and Tussing (10) while Banks continued setting up her soaring teammates, netting a game-high 19 assists. Aces played a large key in the victory as well, with Dougherty notching nine and the team totaling 19.

"We really needed this win tonight for our confidence," Robinson Coach Jill Pearson said. "Everybody played very well, and it is great when you can have great players on the outside ... Our team is very well balanced and, top-to-bottom, I believe this is the best senior class I have ever had."