Murphy – The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Wildcats met in the final in-county matchup of the varsity volleyball regular season.
Murphy hosted Andrews on Sept. 30 in their second meeting of the season. Like the last time the in-county rivals met, this game also went to five sets in a close, back-and-forth battle. Also like last time, Andrews got the win.
From the first serve, the gym was loud with fans on both sides of the gym loudly cheering.
It was back-and-forth early. with multiple lead changes. Andrews (10-10) called the first timeout of the match as Murphy (8-10) led 19-16. Out of the timeout, the Dogs went on a run to win the first set 25-16.
Andrews fought back in the second set. The Dogs took an early lead, but the Cats fought back to tie it at 15. Murphy called a late timeout as Andrews led 21-17. Out of the timeout, Andrews closed out the second set 25-21 to tie the match at 1.
The third set was back and forth from the start, with both teams fighting for the lead. They exchanged leads throughout the set, but Murphy pulled away late to win the set 25-19 to lead the match 2-1.
With Murphy one set win away from winning the match, Andrews scratched and clawed to prevent that from happening. Like previous sets, it was back and forth to start. Andrews then pulled away with the lead, but the Dogs cut into their lead late.
Andrews called a late timeout as they led 24-22. Out of the timeout, the Cats closed out the set 25-23 to force a fifth set.
The fifth set started close before Andrews pulls away to a 10-5 lead, prompting a Murphy timeout. Out of the timeout, Murphy closed the gap and Andrews led 12-10 leading to an Andrews timeout.
The Dogs then tied it at 12. Both teams took late timeouts as both teams inched towards winning the fifth set and the match. The last timeout was called by Murphy as Andrews led 14-13. Out of the timeout, Murphy tied it at 14 before Andrews scored two straight points to win the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.
The game was also pink night, when the school helps raise awareness for breast cancer. Murphy wore pink uniforms, and the match was played with a pink and white volleyball.
Andrews
The day before they faced Murphy, the Lady Wildcats hit the road for their last non-conference game of the season.
They traveled for their last game outside of Cherokee County during the regular season as they faced Smoky Mountain (5A, 12-9) on Sept. 29.
The Lady Mustangs took an early lead in the match by winning the first set 25-10. They replicated that score in the second set as they took a 2-0 lead in the match by also winning the set second 25-10.
In the third set, Smoky Mountain closed out the game by winning the third set 25-12 to win the match 3-0.
The Lady Cats returned to action Thursday as they hosted Swain County (10-8) on its pink night.
Despite winning the first set, Andrews fell to Swain 3-1 Thursday night.
Murphy
The Lady Dogs travel to Franklin for their second match against the Lady Panthers (5A, 22-3) on Sept. 29.
Their second meeting went similarly to the first, which Franklin won 3-0.
Franklin took an early lead in the match by winning the first and closest set 25-19. They made it 2-0 by winning the second set 25-11.
The Lady Panthers closed out the match to win 3-0 by winning the third set 25-18.
The Lady Dogs played their final home game against their final non-conference opponent of the season Thursday, when they hosted Highlands (5-11).
The Lady Dogs fell to the Highlanders 3-1 to end their week. The Dogs scored first, then fell in the last three sets.
Up next
Murphy will play its final game of the regular season on the road against Hayesville at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The Big Smoky Mountain Conference tournament is set to begin Monday in Hayesville.
Andrews played their final game of the season after the Cherokee Scout’s press deadline Tuesday morning. Coverage from their game against Hayesville will be in the Oct. 15 edition of the Scout.