Hiwassee Dam – After starting the season 4-2, the Lady Eagles find themselves at 5-5 after tough back-to-back losses against Robbinsville and Hayesville and a bounce back win against Union County on Sept. 17.
After being defeated by the Lady Knights in straight sets on the road, the Lady Eagles returned home looking to grab a bounce back win against Hayesville on
Sept. 12.
Through the first two sets of the match, it looked like Hiwassee Dam would get that win.
The Lady Eagles jumped ahead to a 2-0 set lead over Hayesville, downing the Lady Jackets 25-17 and 25-16. But in the third set, Hiwassee Dam got too comfortable and allowed Hayesville to gain some momentum with a 25-18 set win for the Lady Jackets.
“They let up,” Hiwassee Dam volleyball coach Sam Walker said of the turning point in the third set. “They took that third set for granted, which gave Hayesville momentum – and volleyball is 90 percent momentum.”
Once Hayesville got rolling, the Lady Jackets came into the fourth set with wind in their sails, edging out the Lady Eagles 25-23 to force a decisive fifth set.
“We couldn’t get that momentum back that we did in the first two sets,” Walker said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Hiwassee Dam struggled to find their footing after the fourth set, falling behind early in the fifth set and allowing Hayesville to complete the reverse sweep with a 15-7 fifth-set victory.
“We still have to work on everything we did wrong, but as long as there is something positive we can work on, as long at they improve, that’s all that matters to me,” Walker said of the team’s temporary two-game slump after the loss.
The Lady Eagles turned things around to start the new week, downing the Union County Lady Panthers on Monday night to reclaim a .500 record.
Hiwassee Dam matched up with the Murphy Lady Bulldogs after the Cherokee Scout’s press time on Tuesday afternoon.
Hiwassee Dam girls bouncing back from mini slump
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