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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Kya Cooper sets up a pass Tuesday, Aug. 26, against the Lady Jackets. Cooper has solidified herself as a primary setter on the team. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Kaden Atwood and Tara Dawson set up in the back row for a serve receive opportunity Tuesday, Aug. 26. Atwood and Dawson are two senior fixtures of the team. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Hadleigh Allen set up for a serve Tuesday, Aug. 26. Allen was a bright spot in set one picking up points at the service line.
It wasn’t the best day for the Lady Blues as they were swept on the road by the Boyd Lady Jackets.
During the game Tuesday, Aug. 26, the Lady Blues were looking to follow up on the momentum that the junior varsity team picked up by getting their first win of the regular season.
However, it just wasn’t the night for the varsity team.
There were several issues that plagued the team throughout the contest, but head coach Marci Faulk claimed the main one was the team getting their system shocked from the Lady Jackets’ fast-paced offense.
“Boyd’s a very good team, they run a fast-paced offense, it’s the fastest offense we’ve seen this year,” Faulk said. “I think it just rattled us at the beginning. It took us out of our element at the very beginning of set one.”
The team dropped the first two sets 25-10 and 25-9, respectively, but the team started to show fight in set three.
The team started things off with a block on the right side of the net to give themselves a 1-0 lead. Emily Hughes followed this up with a kill to retake the lead for the Lady Blues 2-1.
The offense then put pressure on Boyd’s defense to force a too many touches call to tie the game again, 3-3.
Katy McGehee tied the set later on in the set with a couple of points at the service line and then gave them the lead once again with a pair of aces to take the lead 7-6.
Ultimately, this is where the wheels came off though. The team fell behind 10-8 after this and never regained the lead again, losing the final set 25-16.
There were other bright spots throughout the match, though. Hadleigh Allen cut into the Lady Jackets’ lead at the service line in the first set.
There were also several long and hard-fought rallies, especially one in set two where Tara Dawson, Hughes and Madison Cauble teamed up at the front of the net for multiple blocks.
However, arguably the biggest bright spot was the on the court return for Treyton McCullough, who had been sidelined the first couple of weeks this season while recovering from injury.
McCullough entered the game in set three and came through with her first point of the season, clearing a ball that wasn’t returned by the Lady Jackets.
After the Lady Blues travel to Denver City for a tournament Aug. 29-30, the team will play once again against Woodson on the road Tuesday, Sept. 2.
