Coalfield Shuts Out Harriman 3-0 in Volleyball

August 22, 2019August 23, 2019 admin featured

By Terry Futrell

The Coalfield Lady Jackets proved they are a force to be reckoned with in District 3A volleyball Thursday evening. The Lady Jackets shut out the Harriman Lady Devils in three sets (25-12, 25-23, 25-14) in John Jackson Memorial Gymnasium. The Lady Jackets rebounded from a tough district loss on Tuesday to defending district champion Van Buren County.

Coalfield combined strong serves, effective volleys, and powerful attacks at the net to overpower the smaller Lady Devil team. The Lady Jackets tallied 14 service aces in the match and racked up 36 successful attacks at the net out of 60 attempts. Although not scoring many service aces, the Lady Devils served consistently, committing only four service errors in the match.

Coalfield’s Molly Huckaby led off serving in the first set, scoring an ace on her second serve. The Lady Devils stayed within three points until Coalfield started to slowly pull away with the score 12-8. With a 14-9 lead, Taylor Landrum stepped up to serve nine consecutive points for the Lady Jackets, including three service aces. Coalfield cruised to a 25-12 victory in the first set.

Harriman would not go down easily, and gave the Lady Jackets quite a scare in the second set. Kendra Qualls led off serving and gave the Lady Devils a 4-0 lead. Coalfield tied the set at 5-5, but Harriman pulled ahead by two at 9-7. The set was tied six more times before Coalfield pulled ahead at 24-23 and won the set 25-23 on a service ace by Taylor Landrum. The Lady Jackets committed an uncharacteristic 35 errors in the set.

The Lady Devils took an early 3-2 lead in the third set, only to see the Lady Jackets pull ahead 9-3 with Ashlyn Roberts serving six consecutive points, including a service ace. Harriman could not mount an offense, and Lady Jacket Carlee Keys served five more points, including two aces, to give Coalfield a 15-4 lead. Coalfield kept up the attack and won the set 25-14 and the match 3-0.

A highlight of the match came when Lady Jacket Beth Summers made a spectacular save by using her foot to keep the ball alive on an errant setup, allowing Coalfield to eventually score a point on the play.

When asked how she felt about the performance of her team, Coalfield Coach Jessica Lowe said that her team “has some really hard hitters – if we utilize that, there’s not very many teams that can do a whole lot with that.” Lowe and Assistant Coach Susan England Noe added that stacking the front row and working the net were key factors in their team’s victory.

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Coalfield’s Carlee Kees spikes a hard ball at Harriman defenders Nicole True and Addison Oliver. The Lady Jackets had 36 successful attacks in the 3-0 victory over Harriman. [Photo by Terry Futrell]

Lady Devil Kendra Qualls goes to the floor to set up the ball for a Harriman teammate in the 3-0 loss to Coalfield. [Photo by Terry Futrell]

Coalfield’s Beth Summers leaps high to drive a spike at Harriman’s Madi Thompson and an unidentified player. Summers also provided a game highlight as she made a spectacular save with her foot on an errant setup. [Photo by Terry Futrell]

Lady Devil Nicole True leaps above the net to spike the ball at Coalfield defenders. [Photo by Terry Futrell]

Lady Jacket Taylor Landrum uses her height to advantage as she goes high to drive a hard ball at Harriman defenders. Landrum is one of several players that Coalfield Coach Jessica Lowe calls “hard hitters”. [Photo by Terry Futrell]

Harriman’s Quanazia Sewell leaves her feet to drive a hard ball at Coalfield defenders. [Photo by Terry Futrell]

Lady Devils Take JV Match 2-0

The preliminary junior varsity match was a mirror image of the varsity match, with the Lady Devils winning in two sets 25-19 and 23-12. The Lady Jackets were plagued by 21 setup errors, compared to only 12 for Harriman. The Lady Devil JV racked up 14 service aces, while the Lady Jackets scored only three.

The first set began with the teams battling to a 4-4 tie. Harriman pulled ahead with a 9-5 lead. Lady Jacket Chastin Henry then served six consecutive points to give Coalfield an 11-9 lead. The game was tied seven times before Harriman pulled away from a 19-19 tie to win 25-19. Lady Devil Nicole True closed out the game for Harriman by serving six consecutive points, including three aces.

After being tied 2-2 in the second set, Harriman never trailed and pulled away to an easy 25-13 set victory, winning the match 2-0. True served four consecutive points, including two aces. Lady Devil Addison Oliver served six consecutive points, scoring three aces.

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