CHESNEE, SC - After a slow start to the season, the Chesnee volleyball team has gotten hot at the right time as their 3-0 win over Blacksburg on Tuesday marked their fourth straight region win over the last three weeks.
Chesnee head coach Katie Jolley is proud of the growth that she has seen from her team this season as they look towards hopefully a good seeding in the 2A playoffs. "We're working really hard as a team and improving every day," said Jolley. "We have some younger players that are learning the game and now starting to feel more comfortable on the court. The older players are feeling more comfortable as well, because even though you've played before you get a little nervous to start a new season. We seem to be rolling in the right direction as we start finishing up region play and heading towards the playoffs." The Eagles fell behind 5-2 early in the first set but soon they came storming back against the Wildcats as they went on a seven-point service run from junior Carlee Turner that took them from down 6-4 to leading 11-6. The run included an ace serve by Turner as well as two kills each from both Pearl Holloway and Hayden Roberts along with a kill by Jayla Dunn. After Blacksburg broke the service run, the Eagles went on another nine-point service run by senior Harley Grady who registered four ace serves while Roberts added four kills to push their lead to 21-7 over the Wildcats. The four ace serves were just four of the six that Grady had in the match to go along with 10 digs. "Harley has been strong especially in the last four games that we've been in region as she's been moving and picking up any ball that's on our side of the court," said Jolley. "I knew how quick she was from softball, and I told her that volleyball was just like softball, you get to any ball that you can get to as this court is your field. She has done a great job of jumping into the libero spot in her senior year and she's becoming more aggressive which only helps our team." Chesnee continued their strong play in the set as they went on to a 25-12 win in the set when a Blacksburg shot sailed wide of the court of play to take a 1-0 lead in the match. In the second set Chesnee jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Wildcats scored their first point. With the Eagles leading 18-8, they went on a four-point service run by eighth grader Payden Pitman that included two aces serves to go up 22-8 over Blacksburg. On the final play of the second set, Chesnee got an impressive push kill from senior Pearl Holloway that landed in the middle of the Blacksburg defense to take a 25-10 victory in the set to go up 2-0 in the match. Blacksburg had their best performance of the match in the third set but the Eagles were able to win the match and the set with a 25-17 victory in the third set. Junior Rachel McKinney had three ace serves in the set and on the night the Eagles finished with 17 ace serves that really helped them get an advantage in the match. "A lot of our matches have been decided on the first contact whether that be our serve, or our serves received," said Jolley. "So far in region play whoever wins the serve and serves received gains the most have won the match. That's the way it tends to be in high school volleyball, and we've been working on being more aggressive with our serves which I think is paying off because we're getting more ace serves this year." Pearl Holloway continued her strong play this season registering a double-double with 10 kills and 22 assists. Hayden Roberts finished the night with 13 digs and eight kills while Carlee Turner had a strong night with 11 digs and five ace serves. Maggie Blanton also had a big night on the net with four kills and a block kill as well. Chesnee will return to the court on Thursday when they travel to Landrum for another region matchup, a matchup that could be key in the battle for the region championship. The Eagles will look for a good crowd to travel with them as the varsity match will begin at 7:30 PM. Comments are closed.
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