Lady Bulldogs fall in five-set thriller to unbeaten Robbinsville

    Robbinsville – The Murphy Bulldog girls’ volleyball team suffered their first lost of the season to the Robbinsville Lady Knights on Sept. 5, falling in a tightly contested five-set thriller.
    After a slow start and falling behind 2-0 heading in the third set, the Lady Bulldogs rallied in the third and fourth, winning the sets 25-21 and 25-13 respectively to force a fifth set.
    Losing senior Madison Worley to an ankle injury in the first set didn’t help the Bulldogs, who head coach Nikol Edwards said were unprepared for the Lady Knights.
    “Robbinsville was ready to play us,” Edwards said. “We showed up unaware and they took advantage of that. We took a big hit in the first match, losing Madison, and we never got in a groove after that.”
    In the decisive fifth set, neither team was able to pull ahead until the very last moment, when Robbinsville finally scored consecutive points to pull away from Murphy 20-18.
    Needless to say, Edwards and the Lady Bulldogs will be ready for Robbinsville when the Lady Knights come to Murphy on Oct. 3.
    “We will be more prepared next time,” Edwards said. “They have to come to our house next!”
    For Murphy, Grace Nelson’s 21 kills, 13 blocks and 12 digs were at the forefront of the effort.
    Hailey Bowman had 13 kills, two blocks and a team-best 28 digs, with Rogers adding seven kills, 12 blocks and two digs.
    Freshman Olivia Payne had the Lady Dogs’ only ace of the match, while Sarah Pullium mixed in 24 digs to the final tally.
    On Sept. 3, Murphy downed Nantahala in straight sets, 25-5, 25-13, 25-8. Bowman had eight kills for the Lady Bulldogs.
    Murphy looks to bounce back from their first loss of the season on the road against the Rosman Lady Tigers after the Cherokee Scout’s press time.
    Graham Star Editor Kevin Hensley contributed to this report.