Staying sharp
Coosa keeps its winning streak going while Rome fights for a split.
Coosa volleyball keeps its winning streak going, while Rome fights for a split.
There’s something to learn from every match a volleyball team plays throughout the season. And even late into the season Thursday, both Coosa and Rome found something to play in a pair of non-area matchups.
Coosa improved its winning streak to 11 games with wins over Rome and East Paulding at home while the Lady Wolves emerged with a split on the night after getting a hard-fought win over East Paulding, 25-21, 26-24.
It was a pair of victories over two Class 5A teams for Coosa, which is working on defending its Area 3-AA championship.
“I just want to use these matches to develop consistency,” Coosa coach Nic Hann said. “That’s something we are still working on, so right now we’re just working on us, and bet- ter ourselves for whatever big matches are to come.”
The Lady Eagles (31-4) took a 25- 9, 25- 16 win over Rome before completing the evening with a 25- 12, 25- 13 win against East Paulding.
Senior Taylor Roberts led the team with 17 kills and added six blocks and six digs. Kasey Thacker had nine kills and 13 kills, Deb Barker led the team with 14 digs and six aces, and Brinley Smith led the team with 30 assists.
The Lady Eagles (31-4) hardly trailed in either match with strong serving from Barker and Smith pairing up with good play at the line from Roberts and Thacker. After trailing 10-6 early in the second set against Rome, Coosa won 19 of the next 25 points.
Coosa has now won 20 sets in a row dating back to the KSA Fall Invitational it played in Orlando at the first of the month. And while the three-time area champion has plenty of confidence, Hann makes sure that does not affect play.
“As soon as you lose focus and think another team can’t beat you is the moment you’ll lose,” Hann said. “So reminding them they can get beat at any moment we face, it definitely gets us prepared.”
Rome’s Olivia Vardy led her team with seven kills, while Emma Sheffield added five kills. Kallan Carper led the team with 15 assists and five aces, while Caroline Young recorded 13 assists.
Lady Wolves coach Alicia Parker said she wanted to see more energy from her team against Coosa but was proud of how it responded against East Paulding.
The Lady Wolves ( 169) were most impressive in the second set against the Lady Raiders ( 3- 13) when they trailed 24- 21 and were on the verge of going to a third set. Instead, Rome rallied off five straight points thanks mostly to Carper’s serving.
While the match between Area 3- 5A teams did not qualify as an official area match, Parker was still excited to get a look at a future opponent.
“We now know what to actually expect against them,” Parker said. “They have plenty of tall hitters, and we need to
know where we should be positioned for those hitters.”
Coosa travels to Dade County on Tuesday for a pair of area matches against the Lady Wolverines and Armuchee. Rome, meanwhile, is at Cass for area matches against the hosts and East Paulding.