BOILING SPRINGS, SC - The Boiling Springs volleyball team got their season off to a hot start by defeating Blacksburg in straight sets 3-0 (25-8, 25-13, 25-9) to get their 2022 season started right.
"It's a good win here to start the home schedule," said Bulldogs head coach Allyson Elliot. "We battled at a tournament in Daniel this weekend and it was nice to be back on our home court and start the regular season with a win." Boiling Springs got off to a quick start on Tuesday night as Blacksburg took an early 1-0 lead in the first set before tying the game at 1-1 and taking a 2-1 lead on a spike kill by junior Karson Browning. Blacksburg took another lead at 3-2 before junior Charlotte Hutchins got a kill to tie the game at 3-3. Hutchins then went on a four-point service run to push the Bulldogs lead to 7-3 that included a kill by Browning and an ace serve from Hutchins. Browning, Hutchins, and senior Cloe Wood are leading a strong group of frontline players that the Bulldogs are developing to be stronger once it comes to region play and the playoffs. "We have been working on developing a lot of hitters this offseason as if you only have one a team can try to shut you down," said Elliot. "I feel like we had some other people step up tonight as well like Lauren Kusterer, Macy Bagwell, and Olivia Shirley. We expect those three to continue to develop and help us along that frontline." The Bulldogs kept building on their lead as they scored five straight points on a service run by junior Grace Shepherd that included an ace serve and kills from both Wood and sophomore Lauren Kusterer to push the Boiling Springs lead to 18-5 over Blacksburg. It was all Bulldogs the rest of the set as they took a 1-0 lead in the match by winning the set 25-8. Boiling Springs took an early advantage in the second set jumping out to a 7-3 lead behind two ace serves from senior Emma Beheler and kills by both Wood and Hutchins. Blacksburg closed the Boiling Springs lead to 10-9 thanks to a strong service run from Wildcats senior Maggie Stewart but it was then that Bulldogs senior Cloe Wood stepped to the service line after the Bulldogs won back the serve. Wood went on a seven-point service run that gave the Bulldogs eight straight points to push their lead to 18-9 over the Wildcats. During the run Wood recorded two ace serves and a kill while Hutchins also added two kills of her own. Coach Elliot says that Wood is a player that brings a leadership to the team that includes a willingness to contribute to the success of the team no matter where she is on the court. "Cloe is just a baller and has been working hard," said Elliot. "She has a great mental attitude and work ethic. She does whatever is needed to help the team win wherever that is on the court, even on the sidelines, as we got some younger kids in tonight and she helped guide them from the sidelines. She's just a great athlete." Boiling Springs won the second set 25-13 as Browning recorded the final four points of the set for the Bulldogs on two spike kills and two block kills to push the Boiling Springs lead to 2-0 in the match. In the third set the Bulldogs grabbed a 25-9 victory to win the match as they got ace serves from seniors Makayla Furrey and Grace Shepherd along with an ace serve from junior Aubrey Chang. The Bulldogs will return to action on Thursday when they travel to Wade Hampton, the spot where their season ended last year in the second round of the playoffs. They will then compete in a tournament at Chesnee on Saturday that begins at 8:30 AM. Comments are closed.
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