Hiwassee Dam – For a team still trying to find its way coming off a COVID-19 pause, the Lady Eagles’ volleyball team did not have an easy schedule last week. Hiwassee Dam had two games against Murphy and Robbinsville, the top two teams in the Smoky Mountain Conference, and were swept in both.
Against the Lady Bulldogs, Hiwassee Dam competed for part of the first set but were thoroughly outplayed after that, falling 25-14, 25-13, 25-12. Against the Lady Knights, the Lady Eagles played better as the match went but still didn’t have enough, losing 25-12, 25-17, 25-20.
“I don’t think we played to our potential,” Hiwassee Dam head coach Sam Walker said. “Even playing tougher teams, teams that definitely have some great hitters, but we should be able to at least compete a little bit better.”
After coming off a two-week absence due to COVID protocols, Hiwassee Dam has practiced only three times in the last two weeks. The Lady Eagles played Hayesville on Sept. 16, two games at a tournament in Fannin County on Sept. 18, then two more games last week.
With the lack of practice, the Lady Eagles (3-6 overall) have had to try to get back in volleyball shape the hard way, learning on the fly in games instead of practice. Four players on the team are also still not 100 percent after bouts with the coronavirus.
Against Murphy (9-1), that showed. When things went wrong, it tended to spiral, and they didn’t have answers.
“We were a little intimidated, even though we shouldn’t be,” Walker said. “These girls can hit the ball just as hard as anybody we got against, but they’ve got to get their mindset to believe in themselves.”
On Thursday against Robbinsville (10-2), Hiwassee Dam carried over its struggles from the previous day’s match. The Lady Knights went on a 16-0 run in the first set to take an 18-3 lead and never looked back. They also jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the second set, though the Lady Eagles hung tough and never let Robbinsville completely run away with it.
The third set was when Hiwassee Dam played its best volleyball of the week. Robbinsville never led by more than a point until the end of the set, when the Lady Knights scored the final five points to win the match. The Lady Eagles were able to put some good swings on the ball and get some digs against Lady Knights hitters Delaney Brooms and Yeika Jimenez, but it just wasn’t enough.
For Walker, it comes down to volleyball IQ, where both Murphy and Robbinsville have an advantage.
“That’s something I’ve tried to instill in our team to actually think like volleyball players,” Walker said. “And Murphy and Robbinsville both, they have players that understand the concept of not just go to this area but why do I go to that area and that’s something that we’re kind of lacking in.”
Hiwassee Dam returned to the court Monday night at Murphy and played host to Cherokee on Tuesday. Results of both games were not available before this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press.