Murphy – The Lady Bulldogs are off and running after winning their first two games of the season. In their home opener, they defeated Rosman before hitting the road and defeating Blue Ridge Early College to wrap up their first week.
In their season opener, the Lady Dogs (3-0) hosted conference opponent Rosman (1-1), which rejoined the Smoky Mountain Conference after a four-year absence.
The Lady Dogs had a test coming into the first game. After last season, Murphy graduated nearly every player. The good news is this year’s varsity team is last year’s junior varsity team, which claimed the conference title.
They fought hard and earned a 3-0 win in the season and home opener against Rosman. Murphy scored the first point of the game, but Rosman immediately tied it. Rosman then took the lead and maintained it, but Murphy stayed within striking distance.
Rosman led until Murphy tied it at 17, then again at 18. Murphy pulled away late to win the first set 25-21 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Rosman jumped out to an early lead in the second set, but Murphy fought back to tie it at seven. They tied again at nine before Rosman began to pull away again.
They grew the lead to 17-10 when Murphy called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Lady Dogs scored five straight to close the gap. Murphy continued to fight back and tied it at 20, leading to Rosman calling a timeout.
Murphy continued to roll coming out of the timeout with five consecutive points to win the second set 25-20. The Lady Dogs led the match 2-0 and were one set away from starting their season off with a win at home.
Once the Lady Dogs got a 2-0 lead in the match, they began to silence the once-loud Rosman fans.
Murphy took an early lead in the third set, but Rosman battled back to tie it at eight. Murphy regained the lead, with Rosman staying a few points behind.
Murphy saw their lead dwindle as the third set was tied at 15, then again at 16. The Lady Dogs battled and shifted the momentum their way to go on a late run, causing Rosman to call a late timeout with Murphy leading 21-17.
Coming out of the late timeout, the Lady Dogs continued to pour it on and inch closer to victory. As the Lady Dogs nailed the winning point, the fans loudly cheered as they started their season with a win for the first time since the 2022 season.
They won the third set 25-19 to win the match 3-0.
After the match, Lady Bulldogs head coach Nikol Edwards said the team played strong and together against Rosman.
“It’s the first game, you have to work on a lot of kinks, you have to figure out who goes where, what’s going on. Overall, I was impressed,” she said.
Edwards said they all played well against Rosman, especially Ellie McClure.
“They all have their moments where it’s their turn and that’s part of what makes this team pretty special. There’s not one person who’s going to make a play, they’re all going to make a play and do it for each other,” she said.
When Edwards was making the lineup cards for their match against Rosman, she noticed that only two players remained from last year after the rest graduated with the Class of 2025. Those two played both junior varsity and varsity last season.
“I didn’t have anybody that was full-time varsity come back. So, they’ve got big shoes to fill, but they know it. Expectations are high, and they know that, too, so they’re ready,” she said.
Edwards said that with realignment taking place, the team’s schedule is full. They are used to getting a couple games in before conference play.
“Your first game is always hard. Our conference is strong, especially in volleyball,” she said. “I’m proud of them for stepping up in the first game, getting those jitters out real fast and getting going.”
Against Rosman, Kierstin Westmoreland led the team in aces with five. Saddie Cornwell had four aces, Haven Phillips had three, and Holly Childs and Amelia Joyner had two each. Emma Hensley also had an ace.
McClure led the team in kills with five. Hensley and Joyner also had multiple kills with two each.
McClure also led the team in blocks with six, while Westmoreland had four.
On Thursday, the Lady Dogs hit the road and made it two straight wins to start the season with a win over Blue Ridge Early College (1-2).
Murphy took the early lead and dominated to win the first set 25-9 to get the ball rolling. In the second set, the Lady Dogs kept on going with a 25-18 win to lead the match 2-0. They then cruised to a 25-17 third-set win to win the match 3-0 for a second straight win and second straight shutout.
The Lady Dogs combined for eight aces, led by Emma Hensley with four. Westmoreland and Joyner both had three aces.
Joyner also led the team in kills with seven Westmoreland had six kills. McClure had three, and Jenna Cook and Hensley both had two.
On Monday night, the Lady Dogs beat Hiwassee Dam 3-2.
Up next
The Lady Bulldogs will hit the road Monday to take on Highlands (0-2) at 6 p.m. They will return home Tuesday to face the defending Smoky Mountain Conference champions Cherokee (1-1) at 6 p.m.