Lady Jackets sweep Dade, GC
MBaron@CalhounTimes.com
The Calhoun Lady Jackets took care of business Tuesday, sweeping Dade County and Gordon Central at Gordon Central High School. Calhoun (33-3) extends its winning streak to three matches.
The Lady Jackets first match pitted them against Dade County. Calhoun got out to a rocky start, falling behind early 9-2.
“It’s the same thing that happened last week,” Rice said. “We come into the gym expecting to win instead of working to win. Give Dade all the credit in the world. We’re a ranked team and everyone wants to beat us so we’re going to get everyone’s best game.”
Dade took its largest lead of the match at 16-8. Following a timeout, Calhoun regrouped and went on a 9-0 run, taking a brief 1716 edge.
The latter half of the set went back-and-forth, with both teams unable to establish any streaks. With the score tied 23-23, Calhoun dug deep and scored the two necessary points to win the first set 25-23.
A seemingly different Calhoun team took the court in the second half, as the Lady Jackets stormed out to an 18-4 advantage, extinguishing any chances of a comeback. The Jackets would take the second set 25-8, locking up a sweep of Dade.
Gordon Central
The Lady Warriors hosted both Dade and Calhoun.
Dade County dominated the first two sets, taking both by the score of 25-11.
The third set played out much differently as the Lady Warriors turned the tables on Dade. Gordon Central would build a lead in the first half of the set, with its largest advantage 15-6. However, Dade County mounted a massive 14-5 comeback, tying the set 20-20.
The two teams would trade points, knotting the score for the final time at 24-24. Dade scored two straight points to complete the sweep over Gordon Central, 3-0.
“I saw them working more as a team,” Lady Warriors head coach Alicen Pearson said, referring to the third set. “They were talking to each other. They were moving their feet. Communication is huge in volleyball because it’s a small court with six people on it. So I was very impressed with that and very satisfied with how we came out at the end of that.”
The evening’s final match featured an inter-county showdown between the Lady Jackets and the Lady Warriors.
Calhoun, still on a high from its sweep of Dade County, surged in the first set, going up 15-1 before conceding a second GC point.
The Lady Jackets took set one 25-5.
The second set was much closer, as Gordon Central held leads of 4-3, 6-4 and 7-6. Calhoun looked to be taking control, going on a 7-0 run to make it 13-6, but Gordon Central fired back with a streak of its own to tie the second set 14-14.
However, Calhoun showed its veteran status, closing out the set on an 11-3 advantage to win the set 25-17, thus securing a 2-0 sweep.
“Even in the second set for GC, give them all the credit in the world, they could’ve folded,” Rice said. “I called a tactical timeout just to remind the girls that ... you’ve got to get your feet to the ball first. You can’t run around looking for the ball. You’ve got to get your feet there and sometimes we’re lazy. Fixing that and then having the desire to win makes a big difference.”
“I told them in our last huddle, ... we improved by 12 points from that first set so I was very satisfied,” Pearson said. “Of course, we didn’t pull out the win, but they fought for it and we had minimal, if not, any errors so I would say it was a successful night.”
Pearson said she schedules difficult non-region opponents to provide learning opportunities for the team.
“If we played people at the same level, we wouldn’t get any better,” Pearson said. “We observe them when they’re warming up or when they’re playing other opponents so we can take note of those things. Playing them helps us get better because it pushes us.”
Rice, now in his 12th season coaching Calhoun Volleyball, said he supports the young, up-and-coming program at Gordon Central.
“It’s like I’ve told the girls, you can’t go out and play halfway,” Rice said. “You’ve got to play as hard as you can because we’re not doing anything for Gordon Central if we were to do that. They need to see our best game.”
“I’m proud for them and I support them,” Rice said. “I give them all the support that I can.”
Calhoun has about two weeks left of the regularseason schedule. Rice said this time of year he considers the dog days, mentioning the extremely high outdoor temperatures, testing and homecoming.
“We’ve got to fight through that,” Rice said. “We got to kind of grind it out and ... if we had to have a little lull ... last week and this week, I’m glad it came when it did and not when we were going into the area tournament. If we can get back to where we started the season, ... we need to get back to that level and I’m satisfied we will as soon as the outside interest go away from us.”
Wednesday update for
Lady Jackets
Calhoun swept North Murray and Morris Innovative Wednesday at North Murray High School, moving its record to 35-3.
Senior Anna George led the way with 13 kills. Juniors Nena Marcus and MacKenzie Banta were second on the team in kills, each recording seven.
Junior Anna Hoblitzell notched 23 assists and 19 aces in the tri-match.
Up Next
The Calhoun Lady Jackets prepare to battle Rome High School on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at Calhoun High School. Match time is set for 5 p.m.
The Gordon Central Lady Warriors travel to Rockmart High School to face Rockmart and Coosa on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Match start time is scheduled for 5 p.m.