The James Monroe volleyball team has quietly gone about its business this year without much fanfare.
While the Mavericks are just fine flying under the radar, it is getting harder and harder to ignore what is going on in Monroe County.
Coming into a tri-match in Coal City with Independence and Greater Beckley Christian, James Monroe had compiled a 19-1 record.
Thursday night the Mavericks added two more notches to the win column.
Fighting off a scrappy Patriots squad for a 2-1 (25-23, 15-25, 25-16) win, the Mavs made it a Raleigh County sweep with a 2-0 (25-14, 25-16) victory over the Crusaders.
“I like to keep it secret. We are not bragging about wins and losses,” James Monroe head coach Julie Bradley said. “We are not looking at rankings and we are not bragging about statistics. This is a team effort. That is our focus and we want to have fun with it.”
After sweeping Independence 2-0 (25-17, 25-18) earlier in the year in Lindside, Bradley admitted she saw a different Patriot team on the floor Thursday.
“It was a good win tonight. Independence has improved since the first time that we played them,” Bradley said. “(Independence head coach) Kevin (Bragg) has made some adjustments and you can tell. It was a good move on his part.”
The first set between the Mavs and the host Patriots was a tight affair from start to finish. Tied at 21-21, a kill from sophomore Aliyah Clarkson and an ace from fellow sophomore Ava Pitzer provided James Monroe enough room to squeeze out the 25-23 win.
Independence controlled set two building an early advantage and leading throughout. A tip and an ace from all-stater Aubrey Cantrell and a kill from Kamryn Wooten pushed the lead to 10 points late, leading to the eventual winning margin.
“That was probably one of the fastest paced matches that we have had so far this season. I thought we played well even in the second set that we lost,” Bradley said. “They were still focused and having fun. The mistakes were on effort and maybe going a little too fast. I am happy with them as long as they keep moving, going for the ball and getting those blocks.”
James Monroe jumped out to a 6-1 lead after a kill from Pitzer and an ace from Clarkson.
The Patriots answered with a 5-0 run capped by an ace from Lilli Honaker and a kill from Cantrell to pull even in the set.
Unfortunately for the home team that was as close as it would get the rest of the way.
A kill and an ace from junior Maggie Boroski along with an ace from sophomore Skylar Clarkson keyed a 6-1 run and James Monroe never looked back.
Aliyah Clarkson’s kill and three straight aces from Pitzer gave the Mavs an 11-point edge that eventually went to 12 on a smash from freshman Mya Dunlap.
“We want to get better each game. It is just the midpoint of the season and sectionals will be a whole new season,” Bradley said. “Everybody wants to get to Charleston, so we need to learn from every game we play. We have to keep getting better and improve because we are still very young.”
Independence defeated Greater Beckley in the final match of the night 2-0 (25-22, 25-13).
“The first two sets were great against James Monroe. It was just a point here or there that made a difference,” Bragg said. “It was a different rotation tonight that lost the points, but I was happy with them. I was a little disappointed how we came out in the last set, but the first two we were right there. We came out blazing in the second set. If we can get consistent, we may cause some trouble at the end of October.”
