The Lady Cougar volleyball team met up with the Panthers from Atlanta Jewish Academy on Tuesday afternoon. This match was highly anticipated after the close games with AJA earlier this season.The Cougars started off with lots of noise and energy along with the first serve. They gave the AJA Panthers some good and feisty competition on the court in addition to the TCS bench who kept the gym very loud and proud. The Cougars served well but the ball bounced back and forth as Cougs had a hard time keeping the serve in their favor. Alecta Feely and Emily Daugherty both showed off their consistent and effective passing abilities as they covered the many balls that the Panthers tried to drop into midcourt. Esther Buckingham returned to the court after an injury and easily picked up where she left off, making smart passes to the open spaces in Panther territory. The Cougars encountered a rough patch as AJA #20 put down 5 consecutive serves causing the Cougars to lose their way for a bit. A nice scrappy save by Alecta earned back the serve. Tracy Li placed three in a row helping the Cougars back into the game. Back on track, they hit the gas. The volleys went back and forth, along with the cheering bench that kept everyone the edge of their seats. Esther put away another serve but the Cougars took a wrong turn and Panthers got this one, 21-25.
Game two began with adrenaline running high. The Cougars knew where they wanted to go and now are even more pumped to lead the way. Erin McNeal helped to steady the backcourt with some solid passing. Again Alecta, Emily and Esther put on the moves as they picked up the shots that were both hit and dinked into the Cougar court. Anna Scalf put away three consecutive serves for TCS but while they tried to cover the court, the Cougar drive seemed to fade and they fell behind AJA. Alecta had two strong serves but the Cougars could not keep it in their favor. Panthers win 16-25 in this set. Game three had a rocky start. Serving was not consistent and the team struggled to get ahead during this set. Panther servers had long strings that the Cougars could not return. Sophomore Adair Garrett made her court debut and stood strong making some plucky passes along with a tough dig in the backcourt, keeping the volley alive and in the Cougars favor. However, Cougars couldn’t change the course and lost 9-25.
Their final home match is this Thursday against AAC rival Mill Springs Academy. Game time is 4:30 pm. Go Cougars!
