Anna Huber serves up seven straight points to lead the Gophers back

Barlow appeared ready to push rival Gresham to a final set Thursday night after taking command 20-13 in Game 4. But a timeout changed those plans, as Gophers coach Lori Cook spent a minute giving her team a physics lesson.

“We talked about momentum,” she said. “We wanted to get back a small piece of that, and the girls came out and made some simple plays and it started swinging back our way.”

Senior Abby Bryant did much of the swinging with a series of big hits that overwhelmed Barlow’s front line. She finished a seven-point spurt with a kill that deflected off a set of Barlow hands and flew out of bounds, putting the Gophers ahead 21-20.

Teammate Claire Palmiter got into the act down the stretch, putting up a pair of big blocks in the middle to bring up match point. The night ended with Barlow players clustered near the side post unable to return a ball that had fallen into the front row.

The win marked the end of a big week for the Gophers, who knocked off fellow playoff contender Reynolds in five sets a few days earlier. Gresham (4-2) is tied with St. Mary’s for second place in the league at the midpoint of the season.

“We haven’t been playing our best volleyball, but I knew the kids would be excited for tonight’s match,” Cook said. “This was a big week for us — we got our rhythm going again.”

Look for extended coverage in the Tuesday, Oct. 2, edition of The Outlook.

View a photo gallery of the match at …

http://daveball.exposuremanager.com/g/sept27_bar_vs_gre_vball