CARY, N.C. – Add another merit to the growing list of achievements in Green Level’s young but decorated volleyball existence.

The No. 5 Gators, and their tantalizing front row, owned the opening two sets before holding on in the fifth to escape No. 4 Green Hope 3-2.

Not only did Green Level hand the Falcons their first loss of the season, but it was the first time in program history that they went on the road and defeated their conference rivals.

The Gators held an early lead with a tight grip. Their ability to deny the Falcons of momentum-shifting runs led to a pair of 25-21 set wins to jump ahead 2-0 in the match.

While the advantage never fluctuated more than 4-5 points, Green Hope was unable to dig out of its deficit thanks to Green Level’s strong play at the net.

Riley Taylor put an exclamation mark on the second set with a 3-0 run to push a 14-12 lead to 17-12.

Momentum flipped in the third and fourth sets.

Taylor Bruce came alive for the Falcons with gym-rattling kills from the right side.

Green Hope built up a quick 10-0 lead in the third set and rode the run to a 25-15 victory.

In the fourth, Bruce rallied the Falcons back from an early deficit to set the stage for Andrea Munoz Gonzalez who downed three aces to ignite a set-ending 10-5 run.

A 25-19 fourth-set win pulled the match even at 2-2. The race to 15 was on.

Green Level’s front row went to work and rekindled its early success. Lindley Miller quickly created separation in the fifth.

Talia Francom followed by breaking through with her biggest swings of the night.

To close out the match, the Gators turned back to Taylor who put the finishing touches on a 15-9 victory.

Green Level has rattled off six straight wins. The Gators are 8-2 overall with their only two losses coming in the span of three days to No. 1 Cardinal Gibbons and No. 2 Chapel Hill.

The win also inflates their unblemished record in the SWAC to 5-0.

Green Hope dropped to 11-1 following the match. The Falcons have a quick turnaround as they travel to Apex on Wednesday night.

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Source: highschoolot.com