The Lady Cougars hosted Brandon Hall on Thursday afternoon in the Cougar Center. The Cougar team played consistently with the Panthers with scores that were evenly matched through the first two games.
Game one, the Cougars started off strong. Their serving was not as exact as it had been with their match earlier that week. Their court coverage helped to make up for this and continued to keep points moving in their favor. The Panthers had great court awareness, trying to drop and dink balls into the open Cougar court space. This was a constant theme throughout the match. Captain Tracy Li, Natalia Hoeve, Emily Daugherty, and Esther Buckingham were quick to make sure the ball did not hit the court, keeping it in play. Tracy helped move the scoring along with 6 consecutive serves that the Panthers struggled to return. The team again went back and forth with their serving and volleying, Cougars were neck and neck. Shakirah Wazeerud-Din comes to the service line and proceeds also run with 6 serves, including an ace, tying up the game, 24-24. A couple more stirring rallies and serves from Natalia but the Panthers took the game, 26-28.
On to game two. This game has shaky start. Cougs can’t get a consistent serve and fall behind early on. Aware that the Panthers are looking to drop balls to the center court, Lady Cougars cover this well, helping to keep the score close. The Cougs are hampered by missed serves. They are down 17-22. Emily gives them 5 tough serves, tying up the game, 22-22. Panthers end up with game two, 23-25.
This game starts slowly as the Cougars struggle to receive the serve. When they do get the ball back, their serve is not there. Junior Bella Scaff provides some great passing and ball placement on the front row, earning the serve back. Sophomore Anna Scalf serves 7 consecutive serves, with 3 aces, that the Panthers struggle to pick up. Senior Alecta Feely and Emily battle to cover short balls on the net to help keep the serve. Score is now 11-13. Sadly, the Cougars lose their serving advantage and can’t get it back. Final score was 15-25.
The Lady Cougars will keep pushing ahead, working to better their game. Their next match is versus AAC opponent, The Howard Hawks on Wednesday, September 4 at 4:30pm. Come out and bring some Cougar spirit to help cheer them on!
