Central's Rebekah Hill (front) slams an attempted kill shot towards GPS defenders Allyce Buniak (11) and Lilly Berger (19). The Lady Pounders defeated the Bruisers 2-1 Monday evening in the GPS gymnasium.
photo by Dennis Norwood
GPS volleyball coach Paul Brock is a patient man most of the time.
He knows that this year's team is young and not as experienced as in years past. But he also wants to see progress from week to week as the season progresses.
His feelings were mixed on Monday evening after his Bruisers won one and lost one.
GPS came from behind in both sets to defeat Soddy Daisy by a 2-0 final in the first match, but they weren't as lucky in the second one as Central won the third set to claim that match by a 2-1 score.
"I don't know why, but we didn't play as well as we're capable of playing, but our mindset was elsewhere," Brock said after his team's record changed to 13-15.
"We may have been drained from some intense play this weekend, but there are times when you just have to keep playing. Today was certainly not our best effort as we had to come back in both sets against Soddy Daisy.
"Soddy Daisy just collapsed at the wrong time, but it seems like we're moving in circles at times. We're still making the same errors we made at the start of the season and that's frustrating. We have a lot of potential, but we just haven't shown it yet," he added.
GPS beat Soddy Daisy by scores of 25-22 and 25-23 before losing to Central by scores of 21-25, 25-22 and 22-25.
Central improved to 13-6 with its win.
Central coach Jeff Baughman felt like his may have wanted it more than the Bruisers, but he also said that his team normally doesn't play well on Mondays, so maybe there was a blessing in disguise for the Lady Pounders.
"It was a win, but we didn't play up to our potential," he began as the gym continued to clear out.
"Our blocking seemed to improve and I thought that maybe we wanted it a little more, but Sam Scott did an awesome job," he added.
Rebekah Hill had 15 kills while teammates Lexie Ainslie had 19 assists and Scott 16 digs.
Soddy Daisy has also made great strides since the season began for first-year coach Libby Peigen. The Lady Trojans had substantial leads in both sets against GPS, only to crumble at the end of each.
Peigen was somewhat pleased with the way her girls played, but she didn't care much for the post-match display from members of her team.
"I went over to talk to them and congratulate them on a scrappy match and they were just laughing and cutting up like nothing had happened. That really upset me. I hated losing when I was a player and I still hate losing as a coach, so we needed a little gut check when it was over.
"It's been a roller-coaster season for us so far and it seems like we're going downhill right now. We're starting to get some of the kinks out. We did some things really well today, but we have to maintain our momentum. You can't afford to take a break in this sport or you'll get what we got.
"But we lost that match swinging and fighting and that's what I wanted to see," she expressed.
Gracie Ratledge had six kills for the Lady Trojans while Kyleigh Ward had seven assists and Rachel Rader 11 digs.
Lilly Berger played well for GPS and finished with 15 kills, 22 digs and 21 assists for the two matches.
Courtlyn Martino had 16 digs and five aces, most of them coming in the second set against Soddy Daisy when she recorded 10 straight service points as the Bruisers turned a 12-6 deficit into a 16-12 lead.
SALE CREEK IMPROVED to 21-7 on Monday with a 3-0 non-district win over Rhea County. The Lady Panthers got 11 kills and 13 digs from Ariana Smith while Bailey Pugh had 16 assists for the winners.
SODDY DAISY STATS:
Amber Hatfield -- 1 assist, 1 dig
Kyleigh Ward -- 2 kills, 7 assists, 1 dig, 2 aces
Kirstie Williams -- 3 kills, 5 assists, 6 digs, 2 aces
Rachel Rader -- 1 kill, 11 digs, 1 ace
Whitley Phipps -- 1 kill, 1 assist, 3 digs
Kylie Brincks -- 1 kill, 1 dig
Alex Volker -- 1 kill, 6 digs
Gracie Ratledge -- 6 kills, 2 digs
Cameren Swafford -- 3 kills, 3 digs.
CENTRAL STATS:
Brooke Parrott -- 4 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 11 digs
Lexie Ainslie -- 6 kills 19 assists, 1 block, 3 digs
Emma Beach -- 2 aces
Adrian McClurg -- 3 kills, 1 block, 3 digs
Sam Scott -- 3 aces, 1 assist, 16 digs
Alyssa Barclay -- 2 kills, 2 digs
Rebekah Hill -- 15 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 10 digs
Caitlin Maupin -- 3 aces, 1 assist, 1 dig
Makayla Smith -- 2 blocks, 2 digs.
GPS STATS (combined for both matches)
Courtlyn Martino -- 5 aces, 16 digs
Haley Smith -- 8 kills, 6 digs
Jenna Simpson -- 1 ace, 39 digs
Kate McVay -- 7 kills, 4 digs
Lilly Berger -- 15 kills, 21 assists, 22 digs, 1 ace
Allyce Buniak -- 13 kills, 4 blocks
Hannah Kincer -- 6 kills, 1 ace, 2 digs
Gabby Hughes -- 8 kills, 24 assists, 3 aces, 13 digs.
SALE CREEK STATS:
Lauren Smith -- 6 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces
Ariana Smith -- 11 kills, 13 digs
Sydney Poe -- 3 kills, 1 dig, 1 assist, 1 ace, 1 block
Gracie Janow -- 3 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace, 2 blocks
Bailey Pugh -- 6 digs, 16 assists
Bailey Nelson -- 6 digs, 9 assists, 2 aces
Abbey Burton -- 7 kills, 2 digs, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Tayla Willis -- 2 kills, 4 digs
Taylor Day -- 17 digs, 2 aces
Karah Carson -- 3 digs.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Soddy Daisy's Gracie Ratledge (34) puts the ball over the net as GPS' Allyce Buniak (11) defends. The Bruisers downed the Lady Trojans in straight sets, 2-0.
photo by Dennis Norwood