It’s been a whirlwind season for the Trojans, who have battled quarantine after quarantine and played most of their games with only half of their starters, but West Marion still has a great shot at finishing the season with a winning record.
West Marion (8-9, 3-4) had four games left as of press time Thursday and would likely be considered favorites in three of them.
The Trojans had a tough time hanging with annual powerhouse Our Lady Academy Sept. 23 in a 3-0 loss, with West Marion being outscored a combined 75-45. West Marion had a tough time dealing with OLA’s size on the front line, but Lainey Brumfield still managed six kills and Malyssa Johnson five.
“We didn’t play bad at OLA, but they’re OLA. There’s a reason they’re there every year,” Trojans head coach Todd Pittman said. “The first set, we struggled with some things, but the next two sets we played with them good, especially in the third set. They ended up beating us 25-19, but it was actually tied late at one time at either 17-17 or 18-18.”
West Marion responded with a key sweep of rival Columbia at home Monday, beating the Wildcats 25-13, 25-19 and 25-18. Brumfield and Johnson matched their kill totals precisely from the OLA match, and Brumfield added five aces. Emily Garner was the Trojans’ best server with six aces.
On Tuesday, the Trojans picked up their third district win in dominant fashion, sweeping Perry Central 25-8, 25-14 and 25-7. Johnson led the attacking with 10 kills, while Brumfield served up 12 aces.
“Perry Central just isn’t a very good program yet. This is just their second year having a program,” Pittman said. “We didn’t get to do a whole lot against them because they made so many mistakes passing wise and serving wise.”
West Marion played host to Sacred Heart Thursday, but results were unavailable at press time. The Trojans will wrap up their season next week at Tylertown Monday and at home Tuesday and Thursday against Purvis and Salem, respectively. The Salem game may actually be played Wednesday because Salem’s football game had to be moved up to Thursday.
