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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Makenzie Vacante lines up to return a serve Tuesday, Aug. 19 against the Lady Indians. Vacante serves the team as a defensive specialist. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Kylie Pruitt throws the ball up for a serve Tuesday, Aug. 19. One of the strengths for the team was staying in games at the service line.
It was a full day for the Lady Blues volleyball teams as they held their home opening games at Graham High School.
Unfortunately for the junior varsity team, they could not pick up the win against the Jim Ned Lady Indians.
Despite the loss, coach Courtney Wright saw encouraging signs from the team in this matchup.
“Our passing was day and night,” Wright said in comparison to the team's season opening loss against Burkburnett. “I don’t ever want to lose, but that game could have gone either way.”
Alexis Aguirre, Paizlee Evans and Hudson Wright teamed up early in the contest for a solid defensive effort with a save.
Aguirre and Evans went low for a dig and Wright cleared the ball on the back end.
Kylie Pruitt made an impact early in set one after the team trailed early to tie things 5-5 and give the team the lead 6-5 at the service line.
Evans also took control of things at the service line bringing the lead to 16-10 with an ace.
The team actually made it as far as being up 21-18, however the Lady Indians eventually fought back and snuck away with a set one win 26-24.
In set two, McKynley Corley put in work in the front row. Corley started the set off with a kill at center net to make it 1-0.
Corley continued to emerge throughout the set including setting up for multiple blocks defensively as well as picking up a savvy tip ball for a point to make it 17-14.
Braylee Wenninger also helped bring the lead out to 18-14 at the service line. The team really started to pull away as Wenninger made herself known again tipping the ball over the left side of the net to make it 24-21. The team went on to pull off a gritty 25-22 set two win.
Set three was a very back and forth affair. The teams traded blows back and forth where things were knotted 7-7 to start. Players like Wright and Wenninger were once again making their presences known and players like Ruby Shaffer were providing steady effectiveness at the service line. After a back and forth bought the team managed to pull out to a 21-19 lead and looked to be closing in on the finish line. However, that's when the clock struck midnight for the Lady Blues as Jim Ned ended up pulling away with the final set 25-22.
The team will continue to grow as they travel to Boyd for a match at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26.
