Lady Bulldogs rebound for big wins
Published 12:26 am Saturday, October 10, 2015
The King’s Fork High School girls’ volleyball team recovered from a discouraging loss on Monday to record impressive victories on Thursday and Wednesday.
The Lady Bulldogs earned their second conference win of the season on Thursday, defeating Churchland High School 25-16, 25-17, 23-25, 25-17.
“We did well,” King’s Fork coach Sarah Porter said. “We started out strong. First two games, we pretty much dominated.”
She noted the Lady Truckers showed some improvement in the second set and suspected that her team had become a bit overconfident in the third set before recovering to seal the victory in the fourth.
“We hit pretty decently, but they definitely helped us out with a lot of mistakes,” Porter said. “Their hitters hit quite a few balls into the net.”
Some of Churchland’s issues on offense stemmed from strong defense by King’s Fork.
“Neecole Brown and Jazlyn Dunn were pretty strong on the block,” Porter said.
Brown, a freshman middle hitter, had three blocks, and Dunn, a senior middle hitter, had two, but their impact was not just felt on the balls they sent back but also the ones they influenced in other ways.
“They were touching them and slowing them down, so that helped us out a lot,” Porter said, and it forced the Lady Truckers to adjust their swings, which they struggled to do.
Lady Bulldogs junior setter Cydney Nichols ended up with nine assists, six kills, six aces and five digs. Dunn also recorded five kills and four aces.
On Wednesday, King’s Fork pulled off a special win against a team that has been a perennial Southeastern District powerhouse — Great Bridge High School.
“This is the first time that I have ever coached a team that’s beaten Great Bridge,” Porter said. “They’re not the powerhouse that they used to be, but they’re still a pretty strong team with a team full of girls that play club and travel (ball).”
The Lady Bulldogs prevailed against the Lady Wildcats in five sets, 25-20, 14-25, 23-25, 25-15, 17-15.
“To say that we beat them in five, that’s a huge accomplishment,” Porter said.
The losses in the second and third sets established circumstances that might cause some teams to unravel, but Porter had strong encouragement for her squad at that point.
“I just told them we’ve been working hard, they deserve it,” she said. “We’ve got the potential, we’ve got the talent.”
The Lady Bulldogs had lost to Deep Creek High School in five sets the week prior and were discouraged to fall in only three in a rematch with the Lady Hornets on Monday.
“We deserve to have something go our way,” Porter said she told her girls on Wednesday, and they came through for the upset win.
Dunn contributed 11 kills, six blocks, five digs and two aces, Nichols had 15 assists, nine kills, seven digs and two aces, and Brown registered three blocks and four kills, including the match-winning kill in the fifth set.
King’s Fork (4-7, 2-3) visits Oscar Smith High School on Monday and resumes its conference schedule on Tuesday at Lake Taylor High School.