Andrews – The Lady Wildcats’ varsity volleyball team hosted two local teams and won both matches. On Aug. 20, they beat Hiwassee Dam, and on Thursday they beat Nantahala.
In their first meeting with cross-county rival Hiwassee Dam (1-5), the Lady Cats (2-2) won 3-1 in a closely contested match. The energy was high, as the Kenneth Solesbee Athletic Center was packed with fans of both teams, with the bleachers split down the middle red and blue.
In the first set, Andrews jumped out to an early lead, but Hiwassee Dam went on a run to bring the score close. Late in the set, the Lady Cats led, then the Lady Eagles went on a run to make it a two-point game.
The Lady Cats led 23-21 and called a timeout. Afterward, the Lady Cats scored two consecutive points to win the set.
In the second set, Andrews took an early lead again, but Hiwassee Dam later tied the match up and then took the lead. Andrews then went on a run to win the set, which made the match 2-0.
Heading into the third set, the Lady Eagles knew it was a must win. Hiwassee Dam scored seven straight points before Andrews scored its first.
Midway through the set, Andrews started to close the gap, but it was ultimately not enough and the Lady Eagles won the set to extend the match. Strong serves from Hiwassee Dam’s Brinkley Payne helped win the set.
In the fourth set, it started close, but then Andrews took the lead and ran with it. They led 19-9 when the Lady Eagles called their first timeout. Andrews then closed out the set to win the match 3-1.
Lady Cats head coach Shanna Mustin said after their first win of the season that they finally clicked as a team.
“As a team it was six people all playing together and not just individuals out there trying to make things happen. We went into the game with a few goals and one of our big ones was to be offensively minded,” Mustin said.
“We’re small so we tend to always play on the defensive side of the ball, but tonight was ‘just go out and swing hard,’ and that really worked for us tonight.”
Mustin said Chanteah Rattler, Kylie Donaldson, Lauren White, Caitlynn Thompson and Madison Queen stood out to her against the Lady Eagles.
“Probably serving wise, Chanteah Rattler and Kylie Donaldson. They had some really big runs with serves that got us a lead that was hard to come back from,” Mustin said.
“But also, my subs came in. Lauren White on the back row. She came in at opportune times and changed the momentum. Caitlynn Thompson, same thing. We asked her to play a position tonight that she normally doesn’t play, and she knew what she was doing and she did great.
“We just played a smart game tonight. Like Queen on the outside, she just kept finding the floor with her hits,” she added
Mustin spoke on the confidence they got from their first win of the season.
“A win is always a confidence boost. We started off with a couple losses, so tonight was a big one for us,” she said.
“We came in and we were like ‘if we’re going to go down, we’re going to go down swinging.’ The offense really picked up tonight, and hopefully the momentum goes into Thursday night because next week we have a big week of conference games.”
Prior to playing Andrews, the Lady Eagles hosted Copper Basin, Tenn., and won 3-0 to kick off their week and get their first win of the season on Aug. 19.
On Thursday, the Lady Cats hosted the Lady Hawks (1-1) and won 3-0.
The first set started with points from both teams, but Andrews controlled the first set and cruised to win the set 25-5. Andrews used strong serves with multiple aces to win the set. Nantahala did well with the opportunities they had, but struggled with Andrews’ serves.
In the second set, multiple errors from Andrews allowed Nantahala to score points early. After Nantahala had the lead, Andrews called a timeout. The Lady Cats came out of the timeout and went on a run to win the set 25-15 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Lady Cats were one set away from getting their second win of the week and made the most of it to close out the match. Both teams scored points early, but Andrews went on a run to pull away and got the win.
Mustin said after Thursday’s win against Nantahala that the team played well.
“Our goal going in was to be consistent no matter what happened on the other side of the court. We wanted to still a pass, set, kill game and for the most part we did that,” Mustin said. “We also tried to get our JV setter in and get her some reps, so overall we met most of the goals we had going in.”
This week, the Lady Cats headed to Cherokee Tuesday and will host Robbinsville on Thursday for their first two SMC matchups. Mustin spoke after the match against Nantahala about those games.
“Next week is big for us. We see Cherokee and then Robbinsville, which are going to be two tough conference games. Going in, it’s been a long week, so it’s nice to get the second win this week. Hopefully we can rest up and start preparing for the conference play.”
In the game against Nantahala, Mustin said freshman Juliet Holloway stood out to her for her strong hits and good play at the net. Mustin also said Donaldson stood out because the team can look to her to make big plays in tight moments in the game.
She also mentioned Kaiya Ellis, who is a setter.
“Setters never get the recognition they deserve,” Mustin said. “They touch a ball every time it comes across the court, so with that, she doesn’t get the big kills and things like that, but she helps make it happen.”
Andrews senior Donaldson said after the match against Nantahala that she played well, but there are still things she needs to work on.
“A bunch of hitting, blocking and defense drills because, as you can tell, we are very tiny, but that doesn’t mean we play tiny,” she said. “We play very big.”
To prepare for the conference matchups, Donaldson said size will come into play, especially against Cherokee. They will work on blocking, defense and making sure they are covering the other teams’ hitters.
Earlier in the week on Aug. 20, the Lady Hawks beat Shining Rock Classical Academy 3-1 for their first win of the season.
This week, the Lady Cats begin Big Smoky Mountain Conference matchups. Their next match is at 6 p.m. Thursday at home against Robbinsville.
For the Lady Eagles, they continue their stretch of road games by taking on Union County, Ga., at 5 p.m. Thursday. Nantahala will host Summit Charter at 5 p.m. today, while the Lady Hawks host Murphy at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5.