Berwick rallies for victory after teammate's injury

Berwick High School rallied in the face of adversity to top Morgan City 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 15-25, 25-16, 15-11) in Morgan City High School’s annual Pink Game.
While the game was competitive, it became secondary for a while during the third set.
With the match tied 1-1 and Berwick (10-12 overall, 3-2 in district) trailing 24-13 in the third set, Berwick High School lost one of its back row players, Rosalyn Gros, to injury.
Gros, who was attended to on the court by athletic trainers as well as first responders, was taken to Teche Regional Medical Center in Morgan City by ambulance for testing as a precaution, Berwick Coach Heather Templet said.
Her mother, Teri Gros, said this morning that Rosalyn Gros was released from Teche Regional Medical Center last night after a CT scan showed no damage to her neck or spine.
She said her daughter’s doctor thinks her neck could be sprained, so she will wear a neck brace for the next week with no physical activity.
“As of this morning, Rosalyn’s neck is a little sore but other than that, she’s doing well,” her mother said.
Teri Gros said her daughter is hopeful she can make a full recovery in time for this year’s volleyball postseason.
When the game resumed following the injury, Berwick fell in the third set, 25-14, but came out strong in the fourth set en route to a 25-16 victory.
They concluded the fifth set with a 15-11 win.
“She was having a great game, and you hate to see that for any kid, and she’s so determined. … She’s a big spark plug for our team, kind of makes us go,” Berwick Coach Heather Templet said of Gros, who had 13 digs at the time of her injury.
Templet commended the athletic trainers on site for their work.
“(Athletic) trainers did a great job, great response,” Templet said. “That’s what this community’s about.”
Teri Gros also was appreciative of the community support
“We all truly appreciate the prayers, concerns and visits from both BHS and MCHS administrators/parents/student body,” Teri Gros said. “It truly amazes me how much this community pulls together in a time of need.”
As for her team, Templet said she was impressed how they responded mentally from Gros’ injury.
“That’s one of the weaknesses we’ve been working on as a team is our mental toughness,” Templet said. “We’ve been letting people get to us and shutting down, and I’m so proud of them right there. They never shut down. Even though you’re backs are against the wall, you lose a key player. … Everybody coming together. It was a total team effort.”
Berwick and Morgan City (9-15, 1-4) put up impressive team stats in the five-game match. Berwick had 10 aces, 39 kills, five blocks and 137 digs. Morgan City had seven aces, 49 kills, six blocks, 47 assists and 148 digs.
“I’m proud of the way we played,” Morgan City coach Christy Theriot said. “They played hard the whole time. I just don’t think our hitters played smart. I think that was the biggest difference. They (Berwick) played smarter.”
In game 1, Morgan City and Berwick were close throughout, with neither team holding more than a four-point lead that Morgan City took for a 5-1 advantage.
From there, Berwick rallied and tied it on a kill and the game was close.
While Berwick took a 22-21 lead late on an ace by Rosalyn Gros, Gros missed her next serve to tie the game at 22.
Morgan City then took the lead for good one play later on a block by Alex Thompson before winning the last two points via a Berwick error and a Morgan City block.
Thompson finishd the game with 15 kills, two blocks and one dig for Morgan City.
In game 2, Morgan City’s lone lead came one the game’s first point via a block.
Berwick began to pull away during the middle of the match.
After Kennedy Hebert cut Morgan City’s lead to 16-12, Berwick's Sydney Aucoin responded with back to back kills to start a five-point swing for the Lady Panthers that finally was broken by another Hebert kill.
Hebert finished the game with one ace, 21 kills, two blocks and 17 digs for Morgan City, while Aucoin had three aces, 16 kills, one block and nine digs for Berwick.
From there, though, Berwick rattled off four of the game’s next six points, with the game ending on a hitting error by Morgan City’s Dwanna LeBeau.
In game 3, Morgan City took the lead early for good on a hit out of bounds by Berwick’s Ashton Morales for a 5-4 lead and soon took control, building as much as an 11-point lead twice, the last time on Hebert’s ace for a 24-13 lead on the play that Gros was hurt and the game was halted.
When play resumed, Morgan City soon ended the set on a tip by Thompson.
Berwick came out strong in the fourth set, using Morgan City errors and its own plays to build as much as a 21-6 lead on a Morgan City error.
However, Morgan City came roaring back, taking 10 of the game’s next 12 points to cut its deficit to 23-16 and prompting Berwick to call a timeout.
However, Berwick regrouped after the timeout, securing the next two points via a Morgan City hitting error by Abby Reynaud and a kill by Morales.
Morales finished the game with 14 kills, three blocks, 12 assists and 19 digs.
In game 5, things were close.
Berwick took the biggest lead of the match at 14-9 on a Morgan City error, and while Morgan City got the next two points via Berwick errors to cut its deficit to 14-11, Berwick closed the match, securing the game’s final point.
Other top Berwick contributors included Brittany Roberie, one ace and 38 digs; Mary Jordan Melancon, one ace, two kills, 11 assists and 13 digs; Emma Hover, two aces and 15 digs; Madalyn Gros, three kills and 10 digs; Madeleine Hover, one kill, one block, three assists and five digs; Alyssa Gray, one ace, three kills and eight digs; and Jordan Lipari, two aces and seven digs.
Other top Morgan City contributors included Brandi Albarado, one ace and 38 digs; Allie Vincent, two aces, 25 assists and 17 digs; Abby Reynaud, three kills, 21 assists and 19 digs; Cecily Feliciano, two aces and 25 digs; Katelyn Gautreaux, 23 digs; and Dwanna LeBeau, one ace, eight kills, two blocks and seven digs.
In junior varsity action, Morgan City won 2-0 (25-13, 25-20)
The Lady Tigers had six aces and four blocks.
Sh’Diamond Holly had six kills and two blocks, while Hannah Gros had three aces and 10 digs.
Other top contributors included: Vincent, one ace, one kill and nine assists; McKenzi Smith, one ace, three kills and seven digs; Reynaud, five assists and two digs; Kaitlyn Gros, one ace and seven digs; Emily Boudreaux, six digs; and Paige Loftin, one kill, two blocks and two digs
Top contributors for Berwick were Hannah Henry, one kill, two assists and two digs; Maci Broussard, 10 digs; Lauren Skinner, three kills; Mary Grace Theriot, five digs; Morgan Toups, two aces, one kill and two digs; and Abbie Dugas, two assists
In freshman action, Berwick defeated Morgan City 2-0 (25-20, 25-21).
Berwick had eight aces and 21 kills in the match.
Toups and Skinner led the Lady Panthers. Toups had 10 kills, while Skinner had four aces, three kills, one block and three digs.
Other top contributors for Berwick included Gray, one ace, two kills, five assists and four digs; Dugas, one ace, five assists and seven digs; Broussard, one ace, one kill, two assists and six digs; Megan Lipari, one ace, three kills and five digs; and Isabella Lodrigue, six digs.
Morgan City had seven aces in the loss.
Hallie Blanchard, Jolee Nini and Karmen Peterson led the squad. Blanchard had five kills, one block and five digs, while Nini had one ace, one kill, eight assists and five digs. Peterson recorded four aces, three kills and four digs.
Other top contributors included Nia Lightfoot, one ace and seven digs; Daysha Tivet, one ace, one kill and five digs; and Gracie Gros, one kill and five digs.
Morgan City will return to action Saturday when it faces Houma Christian and Ascension Catholic. Houma Christian is ranked No. 7 in the latest Louisiana High School Athletic Association Division V power rankings, while Ascension Catholic is No. 4 in Division V. Morgan City is No. 21 in Division III.
Berwick will return to action today and Saturday when it participates in the Kenner Classic. The Lady Panthers will play Barbe today at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m. against Notre Dame. Barbe is ranked No. 4 in Division I, while Notre Dame is ranked No. 4 in the Division IV. Berwick is ranked No. 17 in Division III.