It’s been about a month since the volleyball season began, and it’s now time for district competition to get going.
East Marion, Columbia and West Marion each played one final match last Thursday to get prepared for district with East Marion and Columbia winning in convincing fashion and West Marion losing a heartbreaker.
East Marion
The Eagles (8-1) extended their winning streak to seven games last Thursday night, sweeping North Forrest 3-0.
Facing a first-year program, East Marion head coach Mandell Echols opted to get his junior varsity players some experience, who answered the bell, outscoring North Forrest 75-34.
“It was (North Forrest’s) first year last year and they lost everybody except for two people. So mainly my JV played and they played hard,” Echols said. “I’m excited about that going into district knowing that if my starters get tired, I have players to put in to keep the momentum going.”
East Marion began district play Tuesday night on the road against Columbia, but results were not available at press time. The Eagles will be on the road against Thursday night against Magee for a district showdown.
Columbia
While the Wildcats (4-10) swept South Jones 3-0, the Braves were ahead in every set, but the Wildcats were able to come back.
The first set went to the brink as Columbia pulled off the 26-24 win. The Wildcats then battled through the second and third sets, winning 25-19 and 25-22.
“The good thing that came out of that match was that in all three sets we got behind and were able to come back and win all three sets. It was the first time we’ve been able to do that all year and pull it out at the end,” head coach Scott Fitzgerald said.
Abby Morris led the Wildcats with 10 kills with Lauren Hill notching six. Sadie Willis led the team with three aces, followed by Elizabeth Sanford and Ashley Cox with two apiece. The Wildcats defense was busy as Morris (12), Sanford (10), Michelle Martin (9) and Trena Tran (8) all had good nights digging the ball. Tran set the offense up with 16 assists to pace the Wildcats.
Fitzgerald opted to load up on tough competition to begin the season as eight of the Wildcats 14 matches were against schools in higher classifications.
“We are hoping (our schedule) has helped us prepare. We’ve played a harder schedule than probably everyone in the district in the front end. We’ve seen the best and know we can play with them, so we just have to go from there,” he said. “As far as our district is concerned, I think it will come down between East Marion, us and Salem. Any of those teams can beat each other on any given day. It’s just who shows up and plays.”
The Wildcats will play their second district match of the season Thursday at 5 p.m. against Tylertown.
West Marion
The Trojans (2-5) had a hard fought, gut-wrenching loss on their home court last Thursday night, losing 3-2 to Jefferson Davis County.
The Trojans took the first (25-22) and third (25-13) sets, while the Jaguars took the second (25-17) and fourth (25-9) sets to set up the decisive fifth set. It was a back-and-forth battle, but the Jaguars pulled away with a 15-13 win to seal the match.
“It was the same ole, same ole,” head coach Todd Pittman said. “We have to learn to fight and be more consistent. We would play well one set, then the next set we wouldn’t play well. I think we let the win slip away from us. They were really athletic, but I think we should’ve beat them.”
Paris Andrews led the Trojans with seven kills, followed by Janiece Brady and Destiny Harvey with four each.
The Trojans began district play Tuesday night at home against Salem, but results were not available at press time. They will have non-district matches against Amite County (Thursday) and North Forrest (Monday) before playing East Marion in a district match Tuesday at 6 p.m. on the road.
Pittman knows the Trojans need to step up with a tough district schedule on the horizon.
“We just have to get after it. It’s going to be a tough district,” he said. “With Salem, Columbia and East Marion, it’s going to be tough, so we just have to get after it from the get go.”
Pictured Above: India Sartin sets the ball for the Trojans offense. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
