Volleyball focuses on fundamentals

Story by Robert Hoover, sports editor

After a loss against the PG Lady Hawks, the Lady Tigers kicked their practicing into a higher gear. The girls knew that staying in the dumps was no good, and they needed to find their rhythm.

“In practices, we just do what we do in the game,” senior Chealsea Slider said.” We just practice the plays and all that kind of stuff.”

The Tigers faced off with the Liberty Eylau Lady Leopards Sept. 3. The Leopards players stood no match for the conditioned Tigers. The game ended quickly in a shutout, 3-0, with the Tigers on top.

In the first match, the Tigers took an early lead. The girls ran the score up 6-1 before LE called their first time out. Later on, the Leopards went on a scoring spree to catch up, tying the score at 10-10. Despite this surge of points, the Tigers got the lead again and kept it. The match ended with a final score of 25-16.

“We’ve been communicating and passing better lately,” senior Asia Williams said.

The Leopards did much better in the second match, keeping the score fairly close. Though never having the lead, the Leopards tied up the score multiple times. However, in the end the Tigers got the win. The final score was 25-20.

“I think the second match was our best,” Williams said. “They started talking more and passing better, and we still won.”

By the time the third match started, the Leopards started to shut down. The Tigers easily took an early lead. Throughout the game, several errors occurred for the Leopards. Because of this, the Tigers easily ended the match and the game with a score of 25-16.

“It feels really good to get a win,” Slider said. “Beating LE is just a big confidence booster and it helps us get ready for district and all the other games we have.”

Even though the Tigers won, they always know they can do better. In fact, the team is already looking to the future.

“We just have to keep communicating and keep and improve our fundamentals,” Slider said.