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Lady Knights sink Sheldon in straight sets
WALKER — Despite her first name, Charity Middleton is not a very generous opponent on the volleyball court.
The Sheldon High School Lady Panthers found that out the hard way Monday evening inside the gym of Northeast Vernon County — where the Lady Knights' junior outside hitter collected 11 kills and smashed nine aces en route to a 25-11, 25-20, 25-15 sweep by NEVC.
“It was really awesome. I love putting them in seams and just really giving it to them. And it was a good night,” said Middleton, whose team improved to 11-4 on the season. “I think a lot of it has to do with the tempo of the set and the game. If they can get the ball to me, I’m going to try to put it away and do the best I can for my team.”
According to NEVC head coach Emma Schellpeper, the feeling was mutual.
“She was getting really good sets tonight and she took care of them,” she said. “We’ve been working hard in practice both on serving and on hitting. That’s been a focus of ours. And it definitely showed today.”
The Lady Knights, who like the Lady Panthers did not have school on Monday, set the tone early by jumping out to a 10-3 lead. In fact, Sheldon’s three points were missed serves by NEVC (which finished the set with six total).
But the home team overcame the self-inflicted wounds to run away with the set, highlighted by a pair of late aces from Middlelton and fellow junior Avery Minor, plus a kill by freshman Liya Bailey-Thompson that clinched it.
“A lot of aces and also a lot of missed serves,” Schellpeper said. “First game, we gave them over half their points. That’s something we need to improve on.”
The second set was the most competitive of the night, with Sheldon taking an early 4-1 advantage — before Middleton rattled off five aces, including four straight, to put NEVC back on top.
But Sheldon senior Madison Garren tied it at 9-9 with three consecutive aces of her own.
“All of my players can serve really well. Sometimes it’s hard to decide who’s going to serve on what day,” said SHS head coach Emily Godsey, whose team scored seven aces on the night. “Our girls were on, and their girls were on, and it was back and forth quite a bit.”
The Lady Panthers led 15-13 at one point, before a kill by Middleton led to three more points by NEVC with senior Emma Bruce behind the service line. Sheldon was able to stay within a point for a while, before late kills by Middleton and Minor, plus an ace by sophomore Ashlee Keith, sealed it for NEVC.
The Lady Panthers kept the third set close early, but junior Lady Knight Moriah Ashby served up six straight points midway through to allow her team to pull away.
“We looked like a really good team out there, much better than they had down at Miami on Saturday. I was proud of them for that,” said Schellpeper, whose team over the weekend lost the championship match of a tournament hosted by Miami in straight sets. “After our loss to Miami, this will help. This is a good start to the week.”
For Sheldon, it was the opposite.
“I despise Monday games, because we don’t have a practice right before,” said Godsey, who added that she was proud of how her team (which is stuck at two wins on the season and will look for no. 3 at home against Hume on Thursday) played at times. “They were just antsy. I genuinely feel we can put up a better fight the next time we play them.”
As for Middleton, she had the same thought — only about Miami, which NEVC will get its shot at revenge against Friday in Bronaugh.
“I hope to play them again and win,” she said, noting the win over Sheldon gave her team a boost of confidence. “It’s at level 10 right now. But we’ve got to keep it consistent and stay humble.”