Andrews – The Andrews varsity volleyball team had a two game week against 1A Smoky Mountain Conference opponents.
First the Lady Wildcats hit the road and faced Rosman (2-4), then they returned home to host Robbinsville (6-1). They got the win on the road at Rosman, then fell in a close game against Robbinsville.
The Lady Cats (4-2) started their week with their first conference matchup of the week when they took on Rosman on the road on Aug. 26.
Despite losing the first set, the Lady Wildcats went on to win the match for their third straight victory.
Rosman took an early lead in the match by winning the first set 25-16. Andrews fought back and won the second set 25-20 to tie the match.
They kept their momentum rolling in the third set as they went deep with Rosman and won the third set 29-27. With a 2-1 lead in the match, they headed into the fourth set one set away from victory.
The Lady Cats utilized their momentum from winning the previous two sets to win the fourth set 25-22 and win the match 3-1.
With the Andrews win, Rosman is now 0-2 against teams from Cherokee County and also 0-2 in the conference.
On Thursday, the Lady Cats hosted Robbinsville and lost a close game, where both teams battled to the finish.
Andrews opened the game and went on a tear. They forced Robbinsville to call an early timeout as Andrews led 6-1.
The Lady Cats continued to pour it on as Robbinsville called another timeout with the Cats leading 18-11. They went onto easily win the first set 25-15.
They continued their momentum in the second set as they forced the Lady Black Knights to call another early timeout with Andrews leading 8-3.
Robbinsville closed the gap and Andrews called a timeout with a 9-8 lead. Out of the timeout, Robbinsville got their first lead of the match when they made it 10-9.
Andrews immediately got the lead back, but then the tide turned.
They tied the match again at 13, the Robbinsville took off. The Lady Knights got out to a 20-14 lead when Andrews took a timeout. They continued the lead and closed out the second set 25-17 to tie the match.
Robbinsville grasped the momentum and ran with it in the third set and took a 2-1 lead in the match by winning the third set 25-9.
With the game on the line, the Wildcats battled through a back and forth fourth set. Neither team led by more than a few points until Andrews got some late momentum and got a 24-20 lead when Robbinsville called a late timeout.
One point away from victory, Andrews closed out the fourth set by winning it 25-21 to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was close early, but then Robbinsville began to pull ahead, resulting in multiple timeouts from Andrews.
The Lady Cats called a late timeout trailing 11-8. The Lady Knights went on the close out the set 15-9 and won the match 3-2.
This was the first match between them since 2023 that Andrews won more than one set. The last time Andrews won two sets or more against Robbinsville was Oct. 4, 2016 when the Lady Cats beat them 3-0.
After the match, Lady Wildcats head coach Shanna Mustin said that they showed their fight against Robbinsville.
“Even after set three, which they pretty much couldn’t make a serve, they still came back, and we ended up taking it to five. We hadn’t taken a set from Robbinsville in several years,” Mustin said.
“I mean, just the fact that we went five, we’re proud of that, but it’s just like even in the locker room we’re like, ‘OK, we got them next time,’ so it’s already that fire is in them to come out even stronger next time.”
Mustin’s message to the team after the tough loss was, “We go back in there and we’re like, we gotta learn from things, but at the same time, we gotta keep hold of the good moments, so it keeps us motivated and on a positive mindset, so that we keep working to get better and not just sit in those mistakes, but we gotta move forward.”
To prepare for their next matches, Mustin said they will scout and watch film, as well as work on serving.
“I think tomorrow we’re going to work on a whole lot of serving and just being consistent there so that we get ready for Murphy at home. That’s always a big one,” Mustin said.
Up next
Thursday night in The Valley, the Lady Wildcats will face Murphy (5-2) in their first of two meetings this season. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
They will then host Hiwassee Dam (0-7) at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8 in their first matchup of the season with the Lady Eagles.
Then they hit the road to Swain County (3-3) to face the Lady Maroon Devils at
6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9.