It was a tough week on the hardcourt for the Avery Lady Vikings varsity volleyball team, as it fell in straight sets at home on Monday, October 11, against Madison and won the first set at Mountain Heritage only to see the Lady Cougars rally to win each of the final three games of the match for a 3-1 win.
The junior varsity squads kicked off the match with Madison in Viking Gym, and led off with a thriller. Avery won the first set by a decisive 25-17 margin, but fell 21-25 in a closely fought second set. In the rubber game of the match, Madison pulled away for a 18-25 set and match victory.
Varsity action was a close-knit affair throughout the duration. Although all three sets were nip-and-tuck, errors proved to hurt the Lady Viking efforts as the Lady Patriots prevailed in all three games for a sweep, winning by scores of 25-27, 23-25 and 23-25, respectively.
Megan Tennant led the offensive attack with 1 kill with nine kills by Megan Robbins and six kills, three digs, 28 assists and a service ace by Cassie Bumgarner. Johanna Pittman tallied eight kills and four digs, with 12 digs and five kills by Savannah Dellinger and five digs apiece from Shayna Vance and Melinda Eggers.
“The games were very close. We just couldn’t finish the game,” Lady Vikings Head Volleyball Coach Kim Hayes said after the defeat. “We had 16 mistakes in game one and 15 mistakes in game two. In rally scoring, the other team gets those as points. We just could not get our game going.”
Although the match was a disappointingly close loss, the Lady Vikings vowed to learn from mistakes made and turn them into positives for their next match.
“We have got to work on keeping the ball in play,” Hayes said. “We make awesome defensive plays, but then make a mistake on the third hit. We worked in practice on where to place the ball and keeping the ball alive.”
When the Lady Vikings traveled to Burnsville to take on Mountain Heritage, it appeared the Big Red had taken what they worked on in practice and turned it into a winning formula.
In junior varsity action, Avery was dominant in winning in straight sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-13.
The junior varsity squads kicked off the match with Madison in Viking Gym, and led off with a thriller. Avery won the first set by a decisive 25-17 margin, but fell 21-25 in a closely fought second set. In the rubber game of the match, Madison pulled away for a 18-25 set and match victory.
Varsity action was a close-knit affair throughout the duration. Although all three sets were nip-and-tuck, errors proved to hurt the Lady Viking efforts as the Lady Patriots prevailed in all three games for a sweep, winning by scores of 25-27, 23-25 and 23-25, respectively.
Megan Tennant led the offensive attack with 1 kill with nine kills by Megan Robbins and six kills, three digs, 28 assists and a service ace by Cassie Bumgarner. Johanna Pittman tallied eight kills and four digs, with 12 digs and five kills by Savannah Dellinger and five digs apiece from Shayna Vance and Melinda Eggers.
“The games were very close. We just couldn’t finish the game,” Lady Vikings Head Volleyball Coach Kim Hayes said after the defeat. “We had 16 mistakes in game one and 15 mistakes in game two. In rally scoring, the other team gets those as points. We just could not get our game going.”
Although the match was a disappointingly close loss, the Lady Vikings vowed to learn from mistakes made and turn them into positives for their next match.
“We have got to work on keeping the ball in play,” Hayes said. “We make awesome defensive plays, but then make a mistake on the third hit. We worked in practice on where to place the ball and keeping the ball alive.”
When the Lady Vikings traveled to Burnsville to take on Mountain Heritage, it appeared the Big Red had taken what they worked on in practice and turned it into a winning formula.
In junior varsity action, Avery was dominant in winning in straight sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-13.
As the varsity match began, the Lady Vikings were excited to welcome back to the court teammate Jennie Elrod, who had missed the entire regular season with a stress fracture of the leg suffered while playing on the girls soccer team last spring.
As the match began, Avery limited errors and took the match to the Lady Cougars, winning the first set by a 25-22 score. However, the home team rallied in game two with a strong effort, tying the match at a set apiece with a 14-25 win. The final two sets were closer encounters, but Heritage prevailed by identical scores of 21-25.
“When you have powerful hitters like Mountain Heritage has, it is so easy to gain control of the game,” Hayes explained. “Momentum is the name of the game in this crazy sport. You can win a game and then get killed in a game. It is all about momentum, and in high school volleyball a team with powerful hitters usually has the momentum.”
Dellinger had a strong match with six kills, 11 service points, a service ace, and five digs, with six kills, seven service points and nine digs from Pittman. Megan Tennant registered seven kills and two blocks, with five kills by Lauren Burleson and four kills, a pair of blocks and an assist by Robbins.
As the match began, Avery limited errors and took the match to the Lady Cougars, winning the first set by a 25-22 score. However, the home team rallied in game two with a strong effort, tying the match at a set apiece with a 14-25 win. The final two sets were closer encounters, but Heritage prevailed by identical scores of 21-25.
“When you have powerful hitters like Mountain Heritage has, it is so easy to gain control of the game,” Hayes explained. “Momentum is the name of the game in this crazy sport. You can win a game and then get killed in a game. It is all about momentum, and in high school volleyball a team with powerful hitters usually has the momentum.”
Dellinger had a strong match with six kills, 11 service points, a service ace, and five digs, with six kills, seven service points and nine digs from Pittman. Megan Tennant registered seven kills and two blocks, with five kills by Lauren Burleson and four kills, a pair of blocks and an assist by Robbins.
Lacey Barrier had a strong service game with seven points, with 29 assists and four digs from senior teammate Bumgarner. Vance recorded nine digs and a kill, with a pair of digs and a kill from Eggers and a dig by Jennie Elrod.
Although the Big Red did not come away with a victory, the team has confidence that it can play with talented opponents like Mountain Heritage as the state playoffs begin this weekend.
“Both games we have played them have been very close. I wish we could play them just one more time, as I know we could win,” Hayes said. “We are a tough team to beat because of our defense. It can be very discouraging to big hitters like Hendersonville and West Wilkes, who we beat earlier this season.”
Avery’s scheduled Senior Night match and regular season home finale with Mitchell on Tuesday, October 19, was cancelled due to the automobile accident that killed two Mitchell High School students last weekend. The match will not be rescheduled.
Avery seniors Bumgarner, Elrod, Robbins, and Eggers will instead be honored when Avery hosts its first-round state playoff match this Saturday, October 23. Time of match and opponent were not determined by press time, but updated information can be found later this week by reading The Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog by clicking to www.ajtsports.blogspot.com, or by checking out the paper’s Facebook page by clicking to http://www.facebook.com/ajtsports.
Although the Big Red did not come away with a victory, the team has confidence that it can play with talented opponents like Mountain Heritage as the state playoffs begin this weekend.
“Both games we have played them have been very close. I wish we could play them just one more time, as I know we could win,” Hayes said. “We are a tough team to beat because of our defense. It can be very discouraging to big hitters like Hendersonville and West Wilkes, who we beat earlier this season.”
Avery’s scheduled Senior Night match and regular season home finale with Mitchell on Tuesday, October 19, was cancelled due to the automobile accident that killed two Mitchell High School students last weekend. The match will not be rescheduled.
Avery seniors Bumgarner, Elrod, Robbins, and Eggers will instead be honored when Avery hosts its first-round state playoff match this Saturday, October 23. Time of match and opponent were not determined by press time, but updated information can be found later this week by reading The Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog by clicking to www.ajtsports.blogspot.com, or by checking out the paper’s Facebook page by clicking to http://www.facebook.com/ajtsports.
