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Warren Central volleyball players Kennedy Smith, Ka'ryn Henderson and KeKe McKay celebrate after beating Grenada 3-2 in an MHSAA Class 6A playoff match on Tuesday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Arrionna Jenkins hits the ball during an MHSAA Class 6A volleyball playoff match against Grenada. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Melissa Herrle bumps the volleyball during Tuesday's MHSAA Class 6A playoff match against Grenada. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central volleyball players celebrate after winning a point in the fifth set of Tuesday's MHSAA Class 6A playoff match against Grenada. Warren Central won 3-2 for the first postseason victory in school history. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's KK Kelly hits the ball during an MHSAA Class 6A volleyball playoff match against Grenada. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Ellie Tennison hits the ball during an MHSAA Class 6A volleyball playoff match against Grenada. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Hannah Island hits the volleyball during an MHSAA Class 6A playoff match against Grenada on Tuesday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central let one game slip away, got blown out in the next one, and was a few points away from yet another first-round playoff exit.

It never reached that disappointing destination, and instead took a detour to celebration station.

The Lady Vikes rallied to win the last three games after dropping the first two against Grenada, and pulled off a stunning comeback to win 3-2 (23-25, 10-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-12) in the first round of the MHSAA Class 6A volleyball playoffs on Tuesday.

“I think it almost killed me. At one point I needed to sit down and I couldn’t sit down. My nerves were a 12 out of 10,” Warren Central coach Matthew Gullett said. “I wanted this so bad for them, because they have played so hard this year.”

Warren Central (22-9) advanced to the second round and will go on the road to play Lake Cormorant (36-5) Thursday at 6 p.m. Lake Cormorant, the defending Class 6A champion, defeated Vicksburg 3-0 (25-4, 25-9, 25-9) on Tuesday.

Whatever happens next, Tuesday’s victory marked a huge milestone for Warren Central’s volleyball program. It was the first playoff win in the program’s 15-year history.

“Moving up and advancing, it gains the respect of other coaches, of other programs. It gets us noticed on a bigger stage by the college coaches that see our girls and see us moving on,” Gullett said. “I want to make these girls better, but I want to see some of them move to the next level. By gaining respect for our program and getting these big wins, it helps.”

Winning like this, in a thrilling back-and-forth match, also helps. Other than the second game that Grenada won 25-10, neither team led by more than six points at any time.

Grenada scored nine of the last 11 points to steal the first game 25-23, and the third was tied 21-all. WC’s Ka’ryn Henderson got two kills in a row and Melissa Herrle another to finish a 25-22 win that kept the match alive.

“(Grenada) played a great first set and pulled that win right out from under us, and it pulled the wind out of our sails. After that second set I told them we can let them go on with the win or we can go out there and play,” Gullett said.

Warren Central let another five-point lead slip away in the fourth game, but surged back to take a 23-17 lead before Herrle finished it off with another kill for the 25-20 victory.

The fifth and final game was another tight one, with ties at 4-4, 8-8 and 11-11. The Lady Vikes had the final burst, scoring four of the last five points to close out the 15-12 victory and the match. Henderson’s kill from the right side capped it off.

“That last set was just back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I thought it was never going to end. To have it end our way, it’s amazing,” Gullett said.

Henderson, Herrle, and Arrionna Jenkins totaled 11 kills apiece for the Lady Vikes. Henderson also served three aces, while Herrle four solo blocks, 17 assists and 19 defensive digs.

KK Kelly added five kills, 19 assists and 22 digs, and KeKe McKay had 19 digs.

“It’s great. We had a great season. First to come back from our history, and then to come back in the playoffs is just great,” Henderson said. “It’s really about having faith in yourself and believing, and really uplifting people’s spirits. As you saw, we were down. But we believed in ourselves and each other, and we came back.”

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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