‘Not over quite yet’
- Updated: October 4, 2016
Volleyball roundup: Oxford sweeps Briarwood Christian on Senior Night, much more to come; includes White Plains, Faith Christian
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD – Wendy McKibbin had it quite right when she spoke before Tuesday night’s regular-season home finale and Senior Night match against Briarwood Christian.
“It is sad,” the Oxford volleyball coach said, “but it is not over just quite yet.”
After all, the Lady Jackets have their area finals on their home court due after securing the area title and No. 1 seed during the regular season.
First, there was business to take care of Tuesday night and behind the play of seniors Chloe Stone, Nyia Archie, Abby Bussey and Jo Jo Skinner, the Lady Jackets rolled to a 3-0 victory (25-10, 25-23, 25-7)
Stone had 26 assists and eight digs. Archie had 12 kills. Skinner had six kills and 10 digs. And Bussey had 16 digs.
”These kids get along so well, they work hard, they have fun and they are fun to watch,” McKibbin said. “They are just fun to watch.”
The Yellow Jackets took the first set behind the play of their seniors. Archie was dominant at the net during a 10-point run that opened up a 17-6 lead. Alex Hammond served all 10 points in the run.
The second set was much tougher as the Jackets had to rally from 20-16 down to win. A five-point run served by Stone gave the Jackets the lead for good at 23-22. Rachel Uhrin had a couple of big kills to lead the comeback.
Stone started off serving the third set with a 6-0 run and after four straight points by the Lions closed the gap, Archie served 14 straight points to blow the set open. Archie had three aces in the run and Uhrin had 3 kills.
“This group has set goals and they have had their ups and downs, but they do not quit,” assistant coach Rachel Poe said.
Stone, meanwhile, summed it up from the players’ standpoint.
”We are proud of how far we have come,” she said. “It is exciting. We continue to progress and we are excited about our post-season opportunities.”
The future seems bright, too. The Oxford junior varsity pulled out a tough 2-1 win over Briarwood, 26-24, 30-32, 15-7.
Eilee Sparks was all over the court for the Jackets, keeping points alive with 28 digs. Treasure Haynes had 12 kills at the net. Alonnah Zimmerman had 23 digs, Deinnah Issac 14 digs and 24 assists, Aumaria Lindsey 14 kills and four assists, Kennedy Hicks 11 digs and Taniya McDonald three kills and eight assists.
White Plains 2, Spring Garden 0
White Plains 2, Donoho 0
White Plains surpassed the 20-win plateau once again with a pair of straight-set wins. The Lady Wildcats (21-14) defeated Spring Garden 25-9, 25-16 and Donoho 25-20, 25-20.
Destani Alvarado led White Plains with 13 kills and 13 digs. Ryleigh Randall had six kills, six aces and 37 assists. Landry Bussey had nine kills and 12 digs.
The Lady Wildcats were particular strong in their service game. In addition to Randall’s six aces, Lucy Medders had seven and Korie Burgess had three. Isabella Pinto kept points alive with 25 digs; Burgess had 17 and Medders 16.
Ranburne 2, Faith Christian 1
Faith Christian 2, Saks 1
Faith Christian rallied from losing its first match and a tight first game to beat Saks 23-25, 25-22, 15-13 and split its two matches. The Lady Lions lost to Ranburne 24-26, 25-19, 23-15.
“Ranburne played really hard,” Faith coach Bradley Dawson said. “They dug up a lot of balls and we just didn’t give the same effort they did.
“I was proud of how they came back against Saks. We could have easily won the first set, but made two errors on the last two points. But we came back out and played great. We didn’t serve the ball well the last two sets, but played great defense. We really hit the ball well against them.”
FAITH STATISTICAL LEADERS (1-1)
(Lost to Ranburne, defeated Saks)
KILLS: Cornelia Simpson 16, Morgan Robinette 5, Nicole Frechette 10, Zana Christjohn 10, Emily Sills 5.
ACES: Cornelia Simpson 7, Abby Emerson 2, Nicole Frechette 4, Zana Christjohn 6, Emily Sills 1, Abby Kazanjian 7.
DIGS: Cornelia Simpson 10, Abby Emerson 3, Morgan Robinette 1, Nicole Frechette 8, Zana Christjohn 3, Emily Sills 1, Abby Kazanjian 18.
ASSISTS: Abby Emerson 40.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login