Varsity Volleyball Finishes 2019 Season
The 2019 Volleyball season is a wrap. The Lady Cougars again traveled to AASD for their final season matchup against the Howard Hawks on Thursday afternoon. The Cougars were ready to play and high spirits carried them on the court. While they took the lead early on, as we have seen in past matches, they struggled with defense and the ability to retain the serve. Senior Alecta Feely passed like a champ in her final match as a Lady Cougar. Her consistent court coverage began early this set. Bella Scaff came up to serve. She made her signature soft shot, placing 4 serves (one ace) into Hawk territory, bringing the Cougars into the lead, 9-6. Senior Emily Daugherty also begins what were her final moments on the court as a Cougar with impressive passing and placement into the Hawk court. On the net, Emily and Alecta gelled well together to play balls out of the net, keeping the game going. There were some amazing rallies back and forth and the Cougars covered the middle well as they became accustomed to the Hawks routine ball placement in the midcourt. Celeste Jeoffroy again showed her strength at being a utility player who worked both the front and backcourt, helping to keep the game alive. Celeste also brought three serves into the mix, keeping the Cougars lead 11-8. Olivia Robertson subbed from the bench to add three serves to the tally, 17-10. This is where it began to unravel. Hawk player #7 subs in to serve and the Cougars lose their footing. She puts away 5 shots that the Cougars can’t return. Followed by three more from # 17, tying up the game 20-20. Erin McNeal and Anna Scalf both make successful serves, but the Cougar defense falls short. Cougars are now 21-22. Emily helped with some crazy quick center court coverage but it wasn’t enough, Hawks take it 22-25.
Game two was a challenge from the start. Even with an early lead from Emily’s serve, this was short-lived. Celeste again added in strong passing, contributing to some scrappy team volleys. Tracy Li offered some passing help as well. Alecta was very effective on the net, scooping a number of shots out of the net, and working together with Emily to keep the ball in play. Bella saved some errant passes, putting them back in play. Anna Scalf had 4 great serves, bringing the Cougars to 9-14. Emily also made 3 serves, score was now 15-23, but Cougars could not move ahead any further. Hawks took over and they won this one too, 15-25.
Game 3 began with a service error on the Hawks so Cougars took off with a 4 point run from Emily’s tough overhand serve, including one ace. A couple of volleys and the Cougars got back the serve, keeping the lead while they earned a single-serve here and there. Erin brought in six serves, backed by the Cougar court coverage, securing the lead 13 – 3. Bella set up Celeste for a nice hit on the net. Cougars lost the rally and then Hawks #24 came up to serve. Her soft but well-placed shot confounded our Lady Cougars. Even with various substitutions, the Cougars just could not get the serve back. The Hawks won the set and match, 13-25.
This season has been a building year for the Cougars. In addition to the returning players, we welcomed many new players to the game and team. It was a great season and the coaches know there are great things on the horizon for Lady Cougar Volleyball. Thank you everyone for your support and Go Cougars!
