We’re at the end of the second week of prep volleyball and many teams are still trying to figure out the best combinations for what works best as they journey toward post-season play in mid-October.
Such is the case with teams from Sale Creek and Hixson.
Sale Creek has one of the smallest schools enrollment-wise in Hamilton County, but they have one of the best and most competitive volleyball teams from year to year. They are off to a great start with 13 wins in their first 15 matches.
The Lady Wildcats are still trying to figure out what works best as they get used to a new coach and a host of players who have never been on the court at the same time.
The Lady Panthers lost a tough match to Signal Mountain in the first week and they lost again last week against some really good competition at a tournament in Knoxville. They made it four wins in a row and improved to 13-2 overall with Friday’s 3-0 sweep at Hixson, winning by scores of 25-14, 25-7 and 25-16.
It’s been a difficult start for the Lady Wildcats as they didn’t win a match the first week, but have now won three before Friday’s match with Sale Creek. Add to the fact that Hixson is missing two key players – including one for the season who had knee surgery on Thursday – and you can understand the challenges that coach Diane Tench is facing right now.
“I thought the second set was clean as we did what we’ve been teaching, but our goal is to play an entire match like that where we’re able to take advantage of the other team’s mistakes,” said Sale Creek coach Erin Briner, who is expecting her second child in the next month.
“We made too many errors in the first and third sets, but we just have to tell ourselves to not be content with what we’ve accomplished so far. We just want to force the other team to make mistakes and to not give up anything. I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Briner added.
Tench is optimistic and encouraging of her players and she continues to be a positive in their lives, even if the results on the court don’t agree. She knows what kind of program Sale Creek has built and she knew it would be an uphill battle for her team, but she was also feeling good about the way her girls played against a team that is normally a state-tournament participant.
“My girls hustled and made them earn every single point,” said Tench after the match ended.
“All that I ask is they give me 100 percent effort and a good attitude and I got both today. We have two girls out, so we have a lot playing out of position. We just have to do our best with what we have. We know we’re the underdogs a lot, but we just have to make them earn every point and I feel like we did that today,” she added.
Hixson never led in the first set, but it was close early as the difference was only 8-6 following a kill by Enslee Norwood. Five straight service points, including a pair of aces by Eisa Eilertson allowed the Lady Panthers to take control and they captured that first set following a hitting error by the Lady Wildcats a minute later.
An ace from Paige Fox put Hixson ahead 1-0 at the start of the second set, but a dozen straight service points from Karma Higgins put the Lady Panthers ahead 13-1 and it never got any closer, a kill from Higgins giving Sale Creek a 2-0 lead.
Hixson again had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the third set before Sale Creek stretched the difference to 11-3 on four straight service points from Ava Higgins. But unlike the second set when Sale Creek kept extending its lead, Hixson battled back and got within three points at 13-10 following a kill by Fox.
The Lady Panthers went on to win the set and the match, but the Lady Wildcats finished on a high note as they kept battling and had some positive results down the stretch.
Ava Higgins had nine kills in addition to three aces and three blocks to lead Sale Creek while Karma Higgins had 25 assists to go along with four kills, three aces and three digs. Eilertson also played a prominent role in the win with eight kills and two aces.
Eddy Brown was Hixson’s leader with seven kills while Ryleigh Quarles, Fox and Macey Reagan followed with 12, 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Reagan also had seven assists.
Sale Creek returns to action with a home match Tuesday against Marion County while Hixson travels to Soddy Daisy on Tuesday.
SALE CREEK STATS:
Hailee Blaylock – 1 kill
Kiley Blaylock – 3 aces, 1 dig
Elanee Cotter – 1 kill
Eisa Eilertson – 8 kills, 2 aces
Jalyn Hammons – 1 dig
Hailey Heberer – 1 dig, 1 block, 1 kill, 1 assist
Ava Higgins – 3 blocks, 9 kills, 3 aces
Karma Higgins – 1 block, 3 digs, 4 kills, 3 aces, 25 assists
Chelsea Levi – 3 digs, 1 kill
Enslee Norwood – 6 kills, 2 digs
Kaylee Smith – 2 digs, 1 kill
Jaiden Watts – 3 digs.
HIXSON STATS:
Charlee Bellamy – 3 kills
Eddy Brown – 4 digs, 4 assists, 7 kills
Melayna Buttry – 1 dig, 1 kill
Paige Fox – 1 ace, 11 digs, 1 assist, 5 kills
Emily Lott – 2 digs
Ryleigh Quarles – 1 ace, 12 digs, 2 assists
Macey Reagan – 1 ace, 10 digs, 7 assists, 2 kills
Gracie Quarles – 4 digs, 1 assist, 1 kill.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)