Lady Wildcats defeat Harpeth
Posted August 20, 2012
Emma Rushton, #9, sets the ball to #14 Lofton Etheridge as #7 Winnie Bradley watches the play in Waverly's win against the Harpeth Lady Indians.
The 2012 volleyball season has begun for the WJHS Lady Wildcats. Waverly hosted the Harpeth Lady Indians, new to the MTAC Conference this season, on Tuesday, September 14 for their 1st home match. The Lady Wildcats knew this would be a tough season opener facing a strong Harpeth team.
The Lady Indians won the coin toss and elected to serve first and quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Waverly answered with 3 of their own rallies and pulled to within 1. There were 1- and 2-point exchanges over the next few rotations for both teams to keep things close in the first set. The Lady Wildcats were able to put together a 5-point run with Winnie Bradley at the service line and took an 18-16 lead. Waverly had the first chance at set point with the score 24-22, but a service error gave it back to the Lady Indians. Harpeth took a 25-24 lead when the Lady Wildcats had a passing error and a kill attempt that sailed out of bounds on the next two rallies. It was the Lady Indians turn for set point. In the next rally, the Lady Wildcats took the serve back when Emily Davis put down a kill from the back row for Waverly, score 25-25. The next two rallies were won by the Lady Wildcats when Lofton Etheridge made a tip play at the net and put down a kill on Harpeth’s side of the court. The first set of the match went to the Lady Wildcats 27-25.
Waverly took a commanding 14-0 lead in the second set with Emma Rushton at the service line. During her turn at serve, Rushton had 7 aces. The Lady Wildcats then seemed to get a little too comfortable with such a large lead as the Lady Indians began to chip away at that lead. But, the Lady Wildcats held their ground and won the second set 25-21. Waverly took the match win and opened their 2012 season with a home victory.
Serving leaders for Waverly were Emma Rushton 18 for 18 with 8 aces, Winnie Bradley 8 for 8 with 2 aces, Candace Clay 7 for 8 with 1 ace, Emily Davis 5 for 7 with 3 aces, Shawna Donegan 2 for 2, and Jaice Vann 2 for 2. Passing leaders were Lofton Etheridge 11 for 12 with 2 kills and 4 digs, Emma Rushton 21 for 25 with 4 digs, Candace Clay 21 for 23 with 3 kills and 1 dig, Winnie Bradley 27 for 32 with 1 kill and 1 dig, Emily Davis 10 for 15 with 3 kills, Jaice Vann 11 for 11 with 2 digs, and Shawna Donegan 9 for 11.
The B-team for Waverly suffered a loss in their home opener for the 2012 season. The Lady Indians had to battle the Lady Wildcats for three sets in order to take the win. Serving leaders for Waverly in the B-team match were Jordan Barnett 10 for 10 with 4 aces, Emma Thomas 10 for 11 with 3 aces, Kaley Grisham 6 for 8 with 2 aces, and Brityn Sain 3 for 4. Passing leaders were Jordan Barnett 24 for 28 with 1 kill and 1 dig, Bailey Kilburn 27 for 33, Kaley Grisham 14 for 18, Paige Culp 11 for 17 with 1 block, and Elizabeth Allison 3 for 4.
On Thursday, August 16 the Lady Wildcats traveled to Lyles to face the East Hickman Lady Eagles. Both A-team and B-team came away with victories. A-team scores were 25-17 and 25-23. B-team scores were 25-18 and 25-22.
The Lady Wildcats participated in the middle school tournament at Cumberland University on August 17 & 18. Waverly suffered losses from Springfield, 25-14, 22-25, 13-15 and Mt. Juliet , 15-25, 25-15, 13-15, but came away with victories against Freedom Middle, 19-25, 25-21, 15-11 and Southside, 25-21, 25-21.
