Playing matches has seemed like the easy part for the Independence and Liberty volleyball teams.
The hardest part of the season has been getting the actual opportunity to play because of Covid quarantines.
After battling recent extended layoffs, the two Raleigh County rivals clashed in a tri-match Wednesday night with Nicholas County in Coal City.
Still missing a key starter, the Patriots received inspired play from senior Kyra Davis and freshman Alexis Stack to sweep both matches 2-0.
“I thought we played really good tonight even though we are missing our 6-foot-1 middle,” Independence head coach Kevin Bragg said. “We made it work and we talked more tonight. I also saw a big improvement on serve-receive. I thought our libero, Ella Morgan played great, we served tough, and Kyra had a breakout party.”
Davis was electric from the opening serve dialing up three early kills to propel Independence to a quick 8-3 lead in the opening set against Nicholas County.
The senior all-stater would throw down eight total kills to lead the Patriots to a 25-17 win.
“We need that from her every night because she is that good,” Bragg said. “I think she is a difference maker for us. She is our senior captain, and it seems how she goes, we go.”
The home team ran off six straight points to open the second set behind two kills from Stack and two aces from senior Sarah Bragg.
The Grizzlies would trim the lead to two points, but in the end, the power of the Patriots was too much in a 25-14 win.
Kyra Davis had four kills and three aces in the set, while younger sister, Jaina Davis, added three kills. Freshman Aubree Cantrell also had two kills for Indy.
“Alexis is going to be really good and Aubree is too,” Bragg said of his freshmen. “They are both consistent and know what they are doing. They are well coached out of season and easy to coach in season.”
In the final match of the night, Independence jumped out to a 14-2 lead on Liberty en route to a 25-18 win in set one. Kyra Davis and Stack combined for eight kills in the win.
Set two was a tight battle, but with the score tied at 12-12, Independence ran off seven straight points to separate the game.
Three aces from Bragg and kills from Jaina Davis and Stack keyed the explosive run.
“Sarah and Jaina are my defensive gurus. Jaina stepped up and played middle tonight. Sarah is not afraid to sacrifice her body and she plays hard all the time,” coach Bragg said.
The middle match between Liberty and Nicholas County showed both the talent and the youthfulness of each team.
One team would make a run to take a solid lead, only to see the opposition came storming back.
Trailing 8-6 in set one, Nicholas County scored nine straight points and appeared to have control of the first set. Liberty answered with a 10-1 run to regain the lead, only to see the Grizzlies close the set on a 6-0 run for 25-20 win.
“We seemed to really click in spots, but then we got out of sync a little bit with our passing. We are really young, so we hope we will just keep getting better as the season goes along,” Nicholas County head coach Marie Shaffer said. “I just got two starters back tonight, a setter and a hitter, which makes a big difference.”
Set two was another tight battle that saw Nicholas County erase a late four-point deficit to lead 21-20. This time however, it was Liberty that made the final run for a 25-22 win.
Jovie Mains led the Raiders with four kills and Josie Hartshorn had three.
“They played very well tonight and played as a team. It wasn’t individuals, it was a team,” Liberty head coach Denise Arline said. “This is only the third match of the season for us. We started off really good, then we got quarantined for 10 days. It was like starting all over again.”
Liberty took the early 11-2 lead in the deciding third set but could not stop the power of Nicholas County middle hitter, Kelsi Foster.
Seven kills from Foster rallied the Grizzlies to a 21-18 lead, but to no one’s surprise, the Raiders dug deep and scored five straight points to get agonizingly close to victory.
A deep return from Olivia Stone used every inch of the court, but stayed in bounds. Then a well placed tip and two kills from junior Mason Stone was enough to lift Nicholas to the thrilling, 25-23, comeback win.
“That was what I was telling them to do all night. Find the holes and get the ball in the holes every time,” Shaffer said. “If the pass is off, it’s hard to adjust, but they were there during that stretch, and we made good of it.”
Although her team did not win the matches Tuesday, there was plenty for Arline to be excited about after watching her team perform.
“We don’t have any seniors and only two juniors. The rest are sophomores and freshmen,” Arline said. “They are still getting over the nerves with this being just our third match. If we can stay in school, we are going to get much better. This team is scrappy, and they don’t care to kiss the floor. They will go after the ball, no matter where it is. I was proud of them tonight.”
