OBSERVER Photo by Anthony Dolce Above, Silver Creek’s Kiera Brennan prepares to hit a serve in Monday’s match against the Fredonia Lady Hillbillies, in Fredonia.

The final game of the season for the Fredonia Lady Hillbilles (9-7) would typically serve as a warm up for the upcoming postseason, and if Monday night’s game is any indication, the ‘Billies may have some things to work on.

“Our girls were very flat,” said Fredonia coach Amanda Krakowiak. “They did not work as hard as they could have and didn’t live up to their full potential.”

The Silver Creek Black Knights (6-9) bested the ‘Billies in three sets on Monday, 25-15, 25-16, 27-25 to end the regular season for the ‘Billies, while the Black Knights will have one game left on Wednesday.

Though the ‘Billies were leading very early on in the first set, leading 3-1 at one point, the Black Knights would go on a 6-0 run to pull ahead in the first set 10-5, a lead which they would never go back on, as they went on two separate 5-0 runs later on in the first set to pull away with the 25-15 victory, as the Black Knights felt confident going into this one.

“We played hard,” said Black Knights coach John Hilliker. “We played Fredonia pretty well in the last tournament we played against them so we came in with an attitude that we take care of business. We’ve been playing well at the end of the season, which is the best time to play well.”

The Black Knights kept on rolling, despite an early Fredonia lead yet again. This time, the Lady ‘Billies scored the first six points of the set, but the Black Knights were quick to rally, as a 5-0 run of their own put them right back into the set with the momentum on their side. Fredonia could only muster one point at a time for the remainder of the set, while the Black Knights were able to pull away with small two or three point runs. The Lady ‘Billies were responsible for some of their own mistakes.

“We had a lot of hitting and serving errors today, and with both of those combined you’re giving so many points to the other team. It’s hard to fight back from that,” Krakowiak said.

The third set is where the Lady ‘Billies were able to rally and make things more competitive, but the Black Knights were still able to answer point for point. At one point trailing 23-18, Fredonia needed one last rally in order to keep their hopes of winning alive. They were able to do it, almost forcing the fourth set, but Silver Creek ripped off three points in a row at the end to take a nailbiter, 27-25, and walk away with the three set road victory. While the ‘Billies appeared to make a rally, it would prove to not quite be enough.

“In volleyball, I always say it’s never too late,” Krakowiak said. “Until that final buzzer sounds, it never is too late. Little momentum things are huge in volleyball, so if we could have gotten a little run and got it to a fourth set, but we were just really flat tonight.”

Meanwhile for the Black Knights, Hilliker had a precise idea as to what his team had to do.

“We just have to finish,” Hilliker said. “Just finish and not let them get points.”

Kiera Brennan led the way for the Black Knights with seven kills, while Liberty Lawton had six kills, and Yanna Mott had three aces and 12 assists. Fredonia was led by Marissa Cash’s four aces and Nagely Vazquez’s three aces and six kills.

As the season winds down, the Lady Billies look ahead to the postseason. While they most likely won’t have a home playoff game, that won’t dampen their expectations.

“We’re in the bottom half definitely,” Krakowiak said. “We’ll be continuing to work hard the next two weeks. We definitely have big expectations for the playoffs and want to go as far as possible.”

Meanwhile the Black Knights have one last game, Wednesday, Oct. 23 against Gowanda, which will be their senior night. Hilliker, in his first year coaching the volleyball team, has a goal for his seniors’ last game: To have fun.

“It’s senior night so we’re just going to have fun,” Hilliker said. “We’re not looking to take heads, whether we win or lose won’t impact our seeding so we just want to honor our seniors. It’s going to be sad, but we’re going to have fun.”

Gowanda will travel to Silver Creek for a 6 p.m. start time on Wednesday.