Nitro secures first place and battle for championship spot remains – Daily News

ANAHEIM – The New York Nitro secured a share of first place in the AVP competition after splitting Sunday’s matches. Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes bounced back from a loss Saturday to defeat the female pairing of the Austin Aces.

However, the Aces men came through with a three-set victory on the Nitro, maintaining a one-match lead over the San Diego Smash for the final spot in the championship.

The Smash were in last place heading into Weekend 7 at the Honda Center, but went 3-1 – their only loss in three sets against the Palm Beach Passion women – to keep their postseason hopes alive.

The battle for fourth place between the Smash, Aces and LA Launch will be decided next weekend in Dallas.

Match 1: San Diego Smash vs. Palm Beach Passion (women)

The Smash built a 14-10 lead in the third set, but dropped four straight match points. Melissa Humana-Paredes’ kill tied the score at 14, forcing a win-by-two scenario.

“I think Melissa just made the decision that she was going to take over the game,” said Brandie Wilkerson, Paredes’ teammate.

That may be true, but it was Wilkerson’s words that gave Paredes the confidence to get another kill and set up their own match point.

Just before they started running, Paredes looked at Wilkerson and said, “Nothing is working, what should we do?”

“Just throw it out,” Wilkerson replied smoothly.

Wilkerson’s next shot decided the outcome as they defeated the Smash (15-10, 12-15, 16-14).

Match 2: San Diego Smash vs. Palm Beach Passion (men)

Chase Budinger and Miles Evans stayed focused through the longest set of the season, defeating the Palm Beach Passion men 21-19 in the first frame. With the score tied at 19, Budinger’s shot settled into the left side of the playing field. He then produced an ace on a soft serve that died at the feet of Phil Dalhausser.

The second set didn’t last nearly as long as Smash jumped out to a 9-3 lead. They held the set point at 14-8, when Dalhausser met Budinger at the net and blocked his shot. Originally the ball was called, but during the replay the ball skimmed over the line.

“Luckily we had a couple of points lead,” said Evans. “We were pretty relaxed there.”

The Smash regrouped to win the match on the next point. The victory (21-19, 15-10) kept them alive in the race for fourth place in the championship.

Match 3: New York Nitro vs. Austin Aces (women)

A smile appeared on Kelly Cheng’s face. She couldn’t erase it even if she tried. Not after she had given the ball a perfect spin, nor had she placed it so precisely. In the second set, Cheng answered an Aces hit that crossed the entire court and was just inside the opposite boundary from which it came.

“She’s just unstoppable,” Sara Hughes said of Cheng, her teammate. “It’s one of those feelings where you can just throw anything at it, and you know it’s going to hit her.”

Cheng had all the tricks on Sunday. Her chance to win the first set was too fast for Taryn Kloth’s instincts. She had a kill that broke a 9-9 tie in the second set. She followed that up with a shot that ended up out of reach of Kristen Nuss. Another kill from Cheng set up match point, before her ace won the match for the Nitro (15-10, 15-11).

Match 4: New York Nitro vs. Austin Aces (men)

Nitro’s Taylor Sander and Taylor Crabb made the Aces look silly during the first set. They alternated between fastballs and soft lobs, constantly switching service tactics. Then Sander launched a skyball before the set point, which Paul Lotman sent back, but straight into Crabb’s block.

“They were firing on all cylinders,” the Aces’ Billy Allen said. “We couldn’t really touch them.”

Matters got worse, it seemed, when Lotman “heard a pop in his knee.” The game stopped for five minutes before Lotman returned.