Robbinsville – After two losses in three days against what look to be the top two teams in the Big Smoky Mountain conference, it appears the Andrews volleyball team still has some work to do to turn experience into wins.
The Lady Wildcats were swept at home by Cherokee on Aug. 29 (25-12, 25-11, 25-15), then suffered the exact same result two days later at Robbinsville (25-20, 25-11, 25-13). After the match against the Lady Knights, Andrews stayed in the locker room for a lot longer than usual.
Head coach Shanna Mustin declined comment afterward, but said in a text message the team was very frustrated about what transpired in the second and third set.
So far this year, the Lady Wildcats’ (2-5 overall, 0-2 conference) two wins have come against Nantahala (1-4). Their three losses before playing Robbinsville (6-2, 2-0) and Cherokee (6-2, 2-0) were all in five sets.
Andrews has some experience, but an incredibly small margin for error due to their lack of a go-to hitter. If the serve-receive or passing isn’t on point, it only gets that much harder.
The Lady Wildcats’ limits showed against Robbinsville, even after an encouraging first set. In that set, the Lady Knights were playing with much less energy than they did against Murphy two days earlier, letting Andrews hang around. A kill and then a service ace from Americas LeQuire put the Lady Wildcats up 10-9 in the set, forcing a Lady Knights timeout.
Aubrie Wachacha responded with a kill for Robbinsville out of the timeout, then went to the service line. Like most teams do, Andrews struggled with Wachacha’s serve. The Lady Knights scored the next three points and then did not trail again for the rest of the match.
Robbinsville nudged ahead 8-5 early in the second set, then went on a decisive 14-4 run to take a commanding lead in the set. The Lady Knights were a little sharper than they were in the first set, and started to get junior middle hitter Claire Barlow more involved in the offense after playing her in the back row in the first set.
Barlow had been nicked up two days earlier against Murphy, and is a difference maker at her position. It didn’t help either that Andrews did not score back-to-back points the entire second set.
Wachacha’s serve helped Robbinsville race out to an 8-0 lead in the third set, and the Lady Knights were never seriously challenged after that. The Lady Wildcats couldn’t get enough good swings on the ball, and some points where they hustled did not go in their favor.
The effort looked to be there, though playing hard doesn’t always equal winning if a team doesn’t capitalize on the opportunity. After the first set Mustin told her team she thought Robbinsville was beatable.
During the last two sets, Andrews had some chances, but the Cats missed too many serves and couldn’t put good swings on the ball, while Robbinsville played closer to their potential. Andrews returned to the court after press time Tuesday against Murphy before traveling to Blue Ridge on Thursday.