Murphy’s varsity volleyball team had a busy three-game week where they picked up two wins.
They started their week with a win over Highlands, then fell to Cherokee, but closed out the week with a win at home over Summit Charter in their first meeting.
The Lady Dogs opened their three-game week with a win over Highlands (1-8) on the road.
Murphy hit the road on Aug. 25 to face the winless Highlanders. The Lady Dogs got it done in three sets, beating Highlands 3-0 and handing them their seventh loss of the season.
The Lady Dogs won the first set of the game 25-22 to take the 1-0 lead. Then they won the second set 25-21 to lead 2-0.
Both teams battled in the third set, but the Lady Dogs got the best of Highlands and won 28-26 to close out the match in three sets.
Holly Childs led the Lady Dogs in aces with three. Emma Hensley, Amelia Joyner and Saddie Cornwell also had one ace each.
Hensley led the team in kills with 10. Joyner had nine kills, Keistin Westmoreland had eight kills and Ellie McClure had six kills. Jenna Cook had three kills and Childs and Piper Dalton had two kills each.
Childs also led the team in assists with 22. Haven Phillips also had double digit assists with 10. Cornwell had three assists and McClure had one.
Cornwell led the team in digs with 22. Hensley also had 18 digs. Joyner had six digs, and Westmoreland, Phillips and Dalton had two digs each.
The Lady Dogs returned home on Aug. 26 and faced Cherokee (6-6). Both sides of the gym were loud as the Lady Braves won 3-0.
The match started out tight, but Murphy called their first timeout trailing 18-11. Murphy was staying within reach of the Lady Braves.
Late in the set, Murphy went on a run to close the gap, but Cherokee just pulled away. The Lady Braves went on to win the set 25-17 to take the lead in the match.
Cherokee started on a streak in the second set, but the Lady Dogs cut into their lead. They tied at eight, but then Cherokee pulled away again. Cherokee led 17-11 when Murphy called a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Cherokee continued to pull away and went on to win the set and make it 2-0 in the match.
They were close early in the second set, but then Cherokee took the lead. Murphy closed the gap, but Cherokee just took off.
The Lady Dogs fought late into the match, but Cherokee won the third set 25-17 to win the match 3-0.
Westmoreland, Hensley and Phillips had one ace each against Cherokee.
Westmoreland and Joyner led the team in kills with five each. Hensley had four kills against Cherokee.
Childs led the team in assists with six and Phillips had five. Cook had two assists.
Cornwell led the team in digs with 13 and Hensley had 10. Joyner had six digs, Childs had five, Cook had three and Westmoreland had two digs.
After the match against Cherokee, Lady Dogs head coach Nikol Edwards said, “I just told them in there just a second ago, ‘if they play hard and play the way they’re capable of playing, we can hang with anybody.’ A lot of it’s mentality and that part of it.”
Murphy was back in action at home Thursday when they hosted Summit Charter (0-7). This was the first ever meeting between Murphy and Summit Charter.
To prepare for Summit Charter, they will focus on playing their style of volleyball.
“I don’t really know a whole lot about them. We’ve never really played them before. They’ve never been in our conference, but we prepare for everybody pretty much the same way, we got to do what we do,” Edwards said.
Murphy got the 3-0 win over Summit Charter. The Lady Dogs won the first set 25-19, then won the second 25-23.
The Lady Dogs cruised to victory by winning the third set 25-17 to get the shutout win 3-0.
Up next
The Lady Dogs return to action with two in-county matchups, both on the road. Up first is at Andrews at 6 p.m. Thursday in their first meeting this season. Last season, Murphy won both.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, the Lady Dogs will head to Hiwassee Dam for their second matchup this season.