Murphy – The Lady Bulldogs’ volleyball team took a whipping against Franklin, but rebounded with wins over Highlands, Mountain Area Christian Academy and Hiwassee Dam last week.
Murphy (3-1) played the Panthers (6-0) close in all three sets during the season opener on Aug. 15 but ended up falling 25-18 in the first, 25-19 in the second and 25-12 in the third set to sweep the Lady Dogs.
Franklin built a 19-11 lead in set one. The Lady Dogs fought hard to close the lead to 23-18, but Franklin closed out the set with the final three points to take it 25-18.
Franklin jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set before Cayla Greer broke their serve for Murphy’s first point. Murphy closed the lead to 3-2, which was as close to a lead the Lady Bulldogs would see all afternoon.
Murphy pulled within two at 15-13. The Lady Dogs were helped by Julia Dockery, who went at the net with Franklin’s Ryan Green. Dockery won more of the battles than she lost in the exchange, but when Franklin got the serve back, they built a 23-15 lead before Dockery broke their serve.
Windsor Caldwell moved into Dockery’s slot as she served and scored four more points to close to within four of the Panthers at 23-19, but Sara Crupi of Franklin broke Murphy’s serve and Franklin closed the deal in set two.
Murphy took their only lead in the match at the beginning of set three, but it was short-lived as Franklin went on to win that set 25-12 to take the match.
The Lady Dogs traveled to Highlands (1-4) on Aug.19. After falling in set one 25-23, the Lady Dogs came back to take the next two sets 25-14 to take the match.
Murphy entertained Mountain Area Christian Academy of Morganton, Ga., on Aug. 20, and took little time is sweeping the match 3-0 with wins of 25-13, 25-14 and 25-10.
The Lady Dogs finished the week off playing host to in-county rival, Hiwassee Dam (1-4) on Aug. 22. This one was a battle from the beginning. In set one Murphy jumped out to a two point lead. Hiwassee Dam broke Murphy’s service and closed the lead to 2-1. Murphy gained the service right back and took a 3-1 lead. The Lady Eagles would build a 5-3 lead before Murphy could bring the rally to a stop, but the lead changes in this set were not over.
The lead would change hands four more time before Murphy went ahead 17-11 behind great net play by Kayla Geer, Dockery and Wyndsor Caldwell. Olivia McNabb of Hiwassee Dam checked out of the game for a breather but returned with the Eagles trailing 17-12. Murphy built a 21-18 lead, but the Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Bulldogs 7-2 to take the win in set one.
Hiwassee Dam (1-4) would only trail once at the start of the second set, building a 16-9 lead, but that’s where their lead came to an end. Behind the serves of Geer, Murphy outscored the Lady Eagles 8-0 to go ahead 17-16. The Lady Eagles would fight back, but two service errors were costly, giving Murphy a 20-19 lead.
McNabb would tie the score with a kill on Murphy’s next serve at the net. Murphy gained the serve back on the next volley to take a 21-20 lead. Murphy would not trail the rest of the set, as the Lady Dogs went on to even the match at one set apiece with a 25-23 win.
In the final and deciding game, the lead went back and forth till Murphy finally built a 15-10 lead over the Lady Eagles on a 6-1 run. Again, Dockery had some great net play, and Anna Brinke had some great returns to help the Lady Dogs take the lead.
Hiwassee Dam would get no closer than four points the rest of the game. The game-winning shot was a Geer serve, Brinke making a return and Dockery laying one in over the net to give the Lady Dogs a 25-20 win in set three and the match 2-1.
“After they lost the first set, I just had to remind them of the uniform they wear who they play for,” Lady Dogs head coach Nicole Edwards said. “It’s all about having pride in what you do and who you play for.”
She added that Dockery and Geer really stepped up and played hard. “I was proud of all of them for not giving up,” Edwards said.
Murphy will travel to Swain County for its next match Thursday. The match will start at 6 p.m.