Getting separation
- Updated: August 24, 2021
Donoho volleyball sweeps Alexandria, Pleasant Valley to remain undefeated; new mentality in Munford
TUESDAY’S MATCHES
Donoho 2, Alexandria 0
Alexandria 2, Pleasant Valley 1
Donoho 2, Pleasant Valley 0
Glencoe 3, St. Clair County 0
Munford 3, Clay Central 0
Sand Rock 2, Faith Christian 0
Spring Garden 2, Cleburne County 1
Spring Garden 2, Cherokee County 0
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
The Calhoun County volleyball tournament is still six weeks away – the seeding meeting three – but it’s never too early to start developing some separation from your peers.
Donoho hosted two of the traditionally top teams in the county Tuesday night and took care of business to remain undefeated. The Lady Falcons beat Alexandria 25-21, 25-22, and Pleasant Valley 25-18, 25-21, and face another challenger a top four seed, Ohatchee, Thursday.
Alexandria beat PV in the other match, 25-16, 20-25, 15-6.
“Playing people in our county is a good thing for us so we can see how we are to these other big teams close to us,” senior Maggie Wakefield said. “Today was a nice confidence booster and I think it’s a good thing to build off as we progress later in the season.”
The top-ranked Lady Falcons (9-0) were only two days removed from winning the Smith Lake Invitational title with what junior Lily Grace Draper called “some of the best games we’ve ever played as a team.” They knocked off 2A No. 1 Addison and 4A No. 5 Curry in the semis and finals.
Wakefield admitted she was “very beat” physically and mentally after an intense weekend. The Lady Falcons may not have been their sharpest, but they were sharp enough to handle two of the county’s best.
“I just hope we play better,” Donoho coach Jamie Clendenin said. “I know you’re saying that we took care of business, but in my eyes, it’s not about wins and losses, it’s about your performance on the court. We were letting balls drop and balls that were going in front of us we weren’t giving the effort.
“I really felt like they were still dead from this weekend. They just looked dead to the world. Tomorrow we’re going to take a practice off so they can hopefully regain the ability to move. We’ve got to do a better job of taking care of what’s on our side. As far as county, we have Ohatchee on Thursday, we still have to take care of business there. I’m sure we’ll play Alexandria and Pleasant Valley again and they’re going to come out and give us everything they got.”
Both of their matches Tuesday night were tight. They pulled away from an 18-18 tie in the first set against Alexandria with three straight points, then closed it out with three straight kills by Wakefield. They led the second set 19-17, then stretched it with another three-point run and closed it out with another Wakefield kill.
Wakefield scored the clinching kills in three of Donoho’s four winning sets. She had 10 kills in the Alexandria match, 15 in the doubleheader.
The match with Pleasant Valley was tied seven times in the early going, then Donoho used six straight points to take control. The Lady Falcons opened a comfortable lead in the second set, too, but PV closed within three twice late.
Alexandria bounced back from its loss to Donoho to win a tough three-setter with Pleasant Valley. The Lady Cubs looked to be in control of the match, leading 17-12 and serving in the second set, but PV outscored them 13-3 down the stretch to force a third.
The Lady Cubs opened leads on 5-2 and 10-6 in the third, then scored the last five points of the set to clinch it. Lexi Weber had 11 kills in the match and Crossley Sparks had 21 assists.
“I think our kids play hard, but we have a lot of work to do,” Alexandria coach Whitney Welch said. “There’s nobody that expects more out of us than me and I know we’re expected to do certain things, but we have growing pains right now. Even though we’re senior-heavy we only have two starters back and some really important roles are brand new.
“I feel like we’re having a lot of good practices and make good headway, but we haven’t been able to carry it to the games yet.”
To view more photos from the match visit www.bjfranklin.smugmug.com
DONOHO 2, ALEXANDRIA 0
(25-21, 25-22)
KILLS – Donoho: Lily Grace Draper 7, Maggie Wakefield 10, Mercy Mangum 1, Mary Marshall Perry 2. Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 6, Kandyn Blankenship 2, Blakeley Mobbs 3, Lexi Weber 7, Devan White 1.
ASSISTS – Donoho: Lily Grace Draper 1, Sam Wakefield 16, Naira Rehman 1. Alexandria: Crossley Sparks 14.
ACES – Donoho: Lily Grace Draper 1. Alexandria: Kandyn Blankenship 1, Blakeley Mobbs 1.
DIGS – Donoho: Lily Grace Draper 5, Maggie Wakefield 3, Mary Marshall Perry 2, Sam Wakefield 3, Naira Rehman 10, Ayesha Siddiqua 3, Hannah Sprayberry 1. Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 2, Kandyn Blankenship 3, Blakeley Mobbs 1, Crossley Sparks 5, Devan White 6, Ava Johnson 7, Brie Troup 1.
BLOCKS – Donoho: Lily Grace Draper 1, Maggie Wakefield 8, Mercy Mangum 1, Mary Marshall Perry 1, Estella Connell 1. Alexandria: Lexi Weber 3, Crossley Sparks 1, Brie Troup 3.
ALEXANDRIA 2, PLEASANT VALLEY 1
(25-16, 20-25, 15-6)
(Alexandria stats)
KILLS – Kailey Dickerson 5, Kandyn Blankenship 3, Blakeley Mobbs 2, Lexi Weber 11, Crossley Sparks 1, Brie Troup 1, Ashley Wells 1.
ASSISTS – Crossley Sparks 21.
ACES – Kailey Dickerson 2, Blakeley Mobbs 1, Lexi Weber 1, Devan White 2.
DIGS – Kailey Dickerson 4, Kandyn Blankenship 4, Blakeley Mobbs 3, Lexi Weber 3, Crossley Sparks 6, Devan White 5, Ava Johnson 6.
BLOCKS – Kailey Dickerson 2, Lexi Weber 2.
DONOHO 2, PLEASANT VALLEY 0
(25-18, 25-21)
(Donoho stats)
KILLS – Lily Grace Draper 6, Maggie Wakefield 5, Mercy Mangum 3, Mary Marshall Perry 1, Estella Connell 4, Yana Osovska 2, Sam Wakefield 2.
ASSISTS – Maggie Wakefield 1, Sam Wakefield 17, Naira Rehman 5, Ayesha Siddiqua 1.
ACES – Lily Grace Draper 2, Mary Marshall Perry 1.
DIGS – Lily Grace Draper 1, Maggie Wakefield 1, Mary Marshall Perry 1, Yana Osovska 2, Sam Wakefield 4, Naira Rehman 10, Ayesha Siddiqua 3, Hannah Sprayberry 2.
BLOCKS – Lily Grace Draper 1, Maggie Wakefield 2, Estella Connell 1.
(Pleasant Valley two-match totals)
KILLS – Lily Henry 9, Rylee Haynes 10, Allie Bryant 5, Maddie Schwabe 5, Baylee Willis 1,
ASSISTS – Rylee Haynes 16, Allie Bryant 18.
ACES – Lily Henry 1, Rylee Haynes 2, Allie Bryant 1, Maddie Schwabe 1.
DIGS – Lily Henry 14, Rylee Haynes 12, Allie Bryant 4, Maddie Schwabe 12, Rebekah Gannaway 17.
BLOCKS – Lily Henry 1, Maddie Schwabe 3, Tori Turner 4, Baylee Willis 3.
Munford stays unbeaten
MUNFORD — Kaylyn Turner scored a career-high 10 kills and Kirsten Rogers dished 10 assists as Munford improved to 3-0 with a straight-set victory over Clay Central, 25-9, 25-9, 30-28.
In addition to her assists, Rogers also scored two aces as the Lady Lions were on their service game. Mekiah Mosley and Jessica Anderson had six aces apiece, while Ellie Jones had four aces and four kills.
“They’ve spent countless hours in the gym over the summer and they’re the most coachable group I’ve ever had,” Munford coach Destinee Briskey said, referring to the secret to their start. “Their game elevates each time we touch a court, whether that’s practice or game. They’ve bought into my coaching style without any question or hesitation.
“And we have a saying — The New Munford Mentality. Over the summer we played at Champions and I asked them why they didn’t believe in themselves. They work just as hard as any other team in the state, but weren’t confident at all. They said they called it the Munford Mentality. So, we coined the new phrase from that and I believe the girls ran with it.”
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