Lady Bulldogs stay on a roll as tournament approaches

    Murphy – With just two games remaining on the regular season slate and an imposing 18-2 record, the Murphy Lady Bulldogs are poised for another strong postseason run.
    Recent victories over the Rosman, Swain County and Highlands have extended the Lady Dogs’ current win streak to 10 games.
    Murphy has in-county matches looming against Hiwassee Dam (8-1) and Andrews (4-12) with the potential to take that streak with them into the upcoming Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament.
    Since gaining senior Madison Worley and junior Grace Nelson back from injuries and suffering their second loss of the season to Franklin back on Sept. 17, the Bulldogs have been hitting their stride, only losing two sets over the 10 game win streak.
    Murphy coach Nikol Edwards said that the loss to Franklin might have served as a “wake-up call” for her team.
    “We didn’t play very well and we didn’t like that feeling,” Edwards said about the team’s response to the loss against the Lady Panthers. “I remember telling them in that Franklin locker room, ‘Remember this. Remember how it feels because I know you don’t like it. And if you don’t want to feel that way again, you’re going to have to work hard.’”
    That hard work paid off for the Lady Dogs against the Lady Tigers (9-7) and Lady Devils (12-8), two solid teams that could’ve stolen a victory from an unprepared team.
    But Murphy closed out both teams in straight sets at home, downing Rosman 25-16, 25-17 and 25-21 and Swain County 25-15, 25-16 and 26-24.
    Swain County gave the Lady Dogs a tough fight in the third set, but Murphy rallied to close out the match.
    “We’ve worked to this point and we’ve worked this hard, so the last week is the same way,” Edwards said of closing out the regular season strong. “You’ve gotta just keep pushing because it all starts over after that.”
    The Lady Bulldogs traveled to Hiwassee Dam to take on the Lady Eagles on Tuesday, Oct. 14 after the Cherokee Scout’s press time.