Menu
Comets defeat St. Louis, downed by Independence at home tri-match
The Cottey Comet volleyball team went 1-1 at its home tri-match Saturday at Hinkhouse Center.
Entering on a two-game win streak, Cottey (6-6) opened the tri-match with a four-set triumph over the St. Louis Community College Lady Archers.
Cottey came out strong in front of its home crowd, taking the first set 25-19. The Comets then prevailed in a wild second set, 29-27. St. Louis rebounded in the third set, winning 25-21. The Comets then locked up the match with a decisive 25-11 fourth set victory.
“We definitely had some momentum coming off of Friday night’s (victory over East Central College), especially in our all-out 29-27 battle to win the second set,” noted Comets head coach Marla Kannady-Foreman.
Cottey freshman setter Mackenzie Green had a monster performance, tallying 39 assists, 16 digs and an ace. Allyson King and Emily Killion combined for 25 kills, while freshman middle hitter Anna Walley concluded with nine kills and six blocks.
“We probably had our best overall hitting percentage for each set in this match, that we have had all season,” said Kannady-Foreman, as her squad notched its third consecutive victory.
“Our hitting percentage never dropped below 21 percent for each set and, even reached 25 percent in the third set. St. Louis and East Central are Region 16 schools, so getting those two wins was huge for us in the seeding of the (upcoming) regional/district tournaments.”
Added Kannady-Foreman: “At one point in set four, we had St. Louis down 17-2 and just got too relaxed in some moments, which gave them the opportunity to make the end score a little more respectable at 25-11. We stayed in-system a lot in this match and, even got pretty comfortable in being the attacker more than the defender.
“This weekend gave us a tremendous jump in our confidence and our ability to realize we can be a force when we stay in-system with (accurate) passing to the target. I was really pleased with how well the team took on my challenge Friday night, and then turned around and continued it Saturday morning.”
In the final match of the day, Cottey clashed with Independence (Kan.) Community College. The Comets came out on fire and led for most of the set. On the ropes and trailing 22-17, Independence stormed back to steal the wild set, 30-28.
The Comets were unable to recover from the first-set thriller, dropping the second and third sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-18.
“I believe the match would have gone another way if we would have won the first set,” said Kannady-Foreman. “We were already tired from all the adrenaline (used) on Friday night and then playing St. Louis Saturday morning. We just couldn’t get our legs to stay fresh.”
Freshman Green continued to shine for Cottey, registering 27 assists, eight digs and three blocks.
“We were caught several times in the first and early in the third set out-of-system,” said Kanady-Foreman, adding, “that always ends on a bad note for us. However, there was a moment in the third set in which my players were determined to give it their all one more time to try to regain control so we could at least have a chance to beat them in five sets.
“It came late in the set, but we won a very long rally that changed sides of the net 16 times before we got in a kill. It just wasn’t enough to spark us into winning set three.”
Tuesday night match
The Comets traveled south on Tuesday to square off with Ozark Christian College in Joplin. Cottey came away with a dominant victory, winning in straight sets 25-10, 25-15 and 25-5.
Up next
The Comets will look to stay on the winning track when they kick off a four-game home-stand, Thursday night against the Northeastern Oklahoma Lady Norse. The contest is slated for 6:30 p.m.
The Comets then welcome in Labette (Kan.) Community College, on Monday.
Note:See the Friday edition for additional coverage of Cottey Comets volleyball