Murphy – Following a disheartening loss to Robbinsville to open Big Smoky Mountain Conference play two days earlier, Murphy volleyball looked to be heading to a similar fate against Swain County Thursday
The Lady Devils, who started the season 6-0 but lost their conference opener at Hayesville, cruised through the first set. But the Lady Bulldogs showed some toughness and battled back multiple times to eventually best Swain County in five games.
“If you would’ve asked me after the first game I would’ve told you we forgot what volleyball looks like,” head coach Nikol Edwards said. “But they came out
the second game and decided they were ready to play. But they handled it really well and bounced back,
and I was really proud of them.”
Though it’s too early to tell exactly where Murphy (3-2 overall, 1-1 conference) will finish in the conference standings, they definitely have their work cut out to try to compete for a conference championship. Due to graduation, injuries and transfers, the Lady Bulldogs have just two players in seniors Maddison Seabolt and Cali Rumfelt who saw serious playing time last year.
When Murphy clinched a sixth straight conference championship last year, the Lady Bulldogs weren’t dominant in the way they were in previous years. There were definite weaknesses and vulnerable rotations.
The margin for error is even smaller this year, which showed against Robbinsville (5-2, 1-0). Despite graduating co-conference Player of the Year Kensley Phillips, the Lady Knights still returned three starters from last year as well as two more who got significant playing time.
They put that experience to good use against Murphy, looking more cohesive and ready to play. Led by senior Aubrie Wachacha, the Lady Knights had 18 service aces compared to just 12 for Murphy, and the gap felt bigger due to the Lady Bulldogs continued struggles with serve-receive.
Wachacha had four aces in a 9-0 run to close out the first set, 25-13. The second set was more back-and-forth, though Murphy was never really in control before Robbinsville went on a 9-2 run to take it, 25-18.
The Lady Knights looked headed for a sweep by jumping out to a 12-5 lead in the third set before Murphy battled back. The Lady Bulldogs took advantage of some strong serving by Rumfelt and a kill from Lailee Holloway put Murphy up 21-17 before they did enough to extend the match with a 25-22 set win.
The fourth set, though, looked more like the first, with the Lady Knights starting out hot and leading 9-1 before finishing the match with a 25-13 set win.
The frustration wasn’t in losing as much as how Murphy lost. Edwards thought her team gave away too many points, and challenged them to play with pride for the name on the front of their shirt.
The Lady Bulldogs may not be as talented as in previous years, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get everybody’s best shot. After a disappointing first set against Swain County (6-2, 0-2), Murphy started playing with pride and toughness and won a five-set battle.
“They kind of regained focus and were able to get back in it and hung in really well,” Edwards said. “We were down quite a few times by a lot of points and fought back and played hard. I was really impressed.”
The Lady Bulldogs returned to the court after press time Tuesday at Andrews (2-5, 0-2) and will host Nantahala (1-4) on Thursday.