Volleyball team falls short against Sparta

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

WCHS senior McKenna Rhea goes up for a block during Monday afternoon’s match against White County at the Charlie Dalton gym. The Lady Pioneers lost the match three games to one. (Dale Stubblefield photo)

Coming off their District 7-AAA win over Oakland last week, the Lady Pioneer volleyball team was looking to down White County for the second time this season Monday afternoon in the Charlie Dalton Gym.

After taking the first game 25-21, the Lady Pioneers had trouble with court coverage, which gave White County the advantage to take the next three games 19-25, 20-25, 21-25.

Warren County dropped to 17-8 on the season and 2-5 in district play. The Lady Pioneers were scheduled to take on Riverdale at home on Tuesday, and will travel to Lebanon on Thursday.

In the first game Warren County played aggressively, and did a good job of coming up with several digs. McKenna Rhea had three kills in the game, while Alysa Lankford who had two stuffs at the net. Brittany Frazier and Mary Kate Fisher both had strong service games to help Warren County pull out the four-point win.

In the next game Warren County did a good job of shutting down the net, but the Lady Warriors used it to their advantage by pushing the ball to the back corners of the court. Warren County held an early lead but White County jumped out to a 16-10 advantage and held on for the victory.

In the third game Warren County still controlled the net, but court coverage was still a problem. White County had no middle attack but managed to place the ball in open court. Ashley Malone gave Warren County a lift from the service line, but the Lady Pioneers couldn’t close out the game as errant passes spelled doom for the home team. White County took advantage of unforced errors and held on for the five-point win.

Warren County was still fighting in what would be the final game of the match. White County continued to play smart and used Warren County aggressive play to its advantage. The Lady Pioneers hustled and played smooth in transition. But White County’s hitters picked apart the backcourt as the Lady Warriors went on to win and secure the match.

“We installed a new defense to help limit our passing errors,” said coach Franklin Fisher.

“For the most part using the Libero player worked tonight. But it was the first time we used this type of defense and we still have to work on it. Our middle blockers forced White County’s hitters to push shots instead of attacking the ball and that gave us trouble. They found the open spots on the floor all night, so that’s something we have to work on.”

For the Lady Pioneers, Lankford led the team in kills with 14, Heather Frazier and Rhea added six each, with Fisher picking up five. Brittany Frazier had five aces, while Rhea added two. Rhea and Lankford had 17 points each on the night with Malone scoring 16.