Hiwassee Dam – Murphy volleyball is still getting to know each other on the court, but things appear to be headed in the right direction.
Following a season opening loss to Franklin, the Lady Bulldogs (2-1 overall) picked up two wins against Little Smoky Mountain conference competition with a 3-1 win over Highlands (1-4) on Aug. 21 and then a 3-0 win in a sweltering Hiwassee Dam (2-3) gym three days later.
“That’s just one thing no matter what sport you’re playing,” Edwards said. “The more they play together and realize what each other are doing, the more that has an impact.”
Edwards said the team has focused on talking and communicating on the court in practice. After some missteps and miscommunication against Franklin, things ran more smoothly against the Lady Eagles. There was a better sense
of where the ball needed to go, which in turn led to better opportunities for hitters. And it made a difference, as setters Cayla Geer and Addyson Dickey were able to get the ball to hitters on a more consistent basis than Hiwassee Dam did for its hitters. It helped that the Lady Eagles could never find an answer for Maddison Seabolt, who finished with a match-high 17 kills.
“Maddison’s just Maddison,” Seabolt said. “She’s gonna play hard, she’s gonna do what I ask her and everybody’s got days but that girls going to play hard all the time.”
Seabolt also ripped off five straight aces in the first set, giving Murphy a 21-14 lead and the breathing room they needed to close out the first set. Hiwassee Dam scored the first seven points in the second set thanks to some good serving by Madison Shorette, and led 14-7 in the set before the Lady Bulldogs battled back. Two aces from Cali Rumfelt helped cut the lead to 14-12, then a 7-0 run put Murphy on top 22-16. The Lady Eagles would answer back with five straight points of their own, though two kills from Seabolt and an ace from Carsyn Lovingood helped close out the second
set.
In the third set, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back. Hiwassee Dam never scored more than two straight points. Seabolt continued to hit with little resistance, and the Lady Bulldogs blocking continued to improve in the third set, with Seabolt and Lailee Holloway having back-to-back blocks in the closing points of a 25-13 set win.
Things get tougher for Murphy heading forward, as the Lady Bulldogs opened up Big Smoky Mountain Conference play with Robbinsville yesterday. The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Knights tied for first in the conference last year, and Murphy won two out of three matches between the two teams last year, including a five-set conference tournament win that gave the Lady Bulldogs the higher
seed in the state playoffs. Murphy will also host Swain County tomorrow, and the Lady Devils started 5-0 for the first time since 2008.
“When you go into conference you gotta start somewhere,” Edwards said. “But you have to go in it with one intention. That intention for us is to always win.”