ROGERS — Emily Osborne provided a much-needed spark for Rogers High on Thursday night.
The Lady Mounties were out of sync early in a 7A/6A-West Conference volleyball match against Van Buren as the Lady Pointers took a 15-13 lead in the first set.
But then Osborne went to the service line.
The Lady Mounties senior recorded 11 straight service points to give Rogers the first set 25-17, sparking a 3-0 win for the Lady Mounties. Rogers (13-14, 3-6 7A/6A-West) won the second set 25-15 before closing out the match with a 25-22 decision.
The victory ended a three-game losing streak for the Lady Mounties, who still have three home matches left in the regular season.
“We were not able to pull off a win against Springdale on Tuesday, so this is a good win for us,” Rogers coach Jeana Breedlove said. “I hope this will give us some momentum going into the rest of the season.”
Osborne is one of two seniors on the Rogers roster, and she recorded five aces during the Lady Mounties’ 11-0 run in the first set. She cut the Van Buren lead to 15-14 before her service run with one of her 13 kills in the match.
Osborne started the Lady Mounties run with three aces, and her fourth serve wasn’t returned over the net by Van Buren.
“We did start a little bit slow,” Breedlove said. “But when Emily got behind the service line, it rallied the team on and we got the momentum. She was real effective, and she is definitely a go-to girl. Emily doesn’t have too many hitting errors.”
It appeared as if Osborne was targeting one Van Buren player in particular with her early serves, but she said she was just looking for an open spot on the court.
“I was just trying to stay focused behind the service line, and my team was really backing me up,” Osborne said. “They were able to keep me serving. I wasn’t trying to get aces. I was just trying to get it to open spaces.”
Sophomores Shannon Orlopp, Emily Sherrill and MacKenzie Muirhead each came up with key points in the second set as Rogers rolled to an easy win. Rogers has nine sophomores on the roster.
“They are young, but they have the ability to make the big plays,” Breedlove said. “I thought tonight, especially Muirhead, they were working their tail off.”
The lead changed hands several times in the third set, but Osborne started a match-ending three-point rally with a kill as Rogers recorded the much-needed victory.
“I was glad we were able to finish that game,” Breedlove said.