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Lady Tigers down Fort Scott in two sets
The Nevada Lady Tigers dynamite start to the season continued on Tuesday, with Nevada knocking off Fort Scott and Garnett-Anderson County at its home tri-match.
The victories improved the defending Class 3 District 12 champions to 4-1 overall.
The Lady Tigers kicked things off with a convincing two-set 25-21, 25-14 win over Garnett-Anderson. Nevada then concluded the evening with a tighter match against Fort Scott (Kan.), but still managed a two-set sweep — taking the first set in dramatic fashion 26-24.
The Lady Tigers then erased a 20-17 second set deficit, as Nevada used an 8-2 run to put away Fort Scott.
Lady Tigers head coach Ashley Thoreson said she was impressed with her squad’s overall performance at the tri-match, particularly with the Fort Scott match.
“Fort Scott is big,” noted Thoreson. “They have a big front row and a lot of power so I knew that we were going to have to put a good block up, which is something we have struggled with the first several matches of the season. I think we were definitely doing a better job of getting our hands over the net on our blocks.”
A pair of spikes courtesy of Nevada middle hitter Sydnie Ernsbarger handed the Lady Tigers a 5-3 lead in the early part of the first set.
An 8-4 blitz, capped by a Kharysn Dwyer kill put Fort Scott on top 11-9. A Dwyer soft-tapper then stretched Fort Scott’s advantage to 16-12. Nevada responded by reeling off four straight points, capped by Alaina Morgan’s ace to tie the match at 16 apiece.
With the Lady Tigers leading 22-19, the match tilted back in Fort Scott’s favor when junior libero Jocie Allen made an incredible dig on Adrian Bond’s hard spike, that was sent across the Wynn Gym floor at lightning speed. Allen’s save helped Fort Scott climb back within two points as Nevada led 22-20.
Fort Scott was able to knot the match at 24 apiece, but was hurt by a pair of net interference calls, as the Lady Tigers closed out the 26-24 first set thriller.
Fort Scott held second set leads of 3-1, 9-8 and 20-17, but was wore down by the Lady Tigers depth, as Bond ended the match with a perfectly placed two-handed under-handed volley just inside the right boundary line.
For the Lady Tigers, junior setter Hailey Jackson tallied 48 assists and three aces. Bond added 17 kills, while Ernsbarger chipped in 15 kills and three blocks. Morgan had a big night defensively with seven blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Stacey Pennington added a monster line of 31 digs and three aces.
“Our defense is above and beyond where I thought we would be right now,” said Thoreson. “Stacey is really stepping up back there. She is doing a great job of just being reliable.”
Added Thoreson: “She is everywhere, getting balls that I think would be down. So that is super-exciting to see. Stacey is just an aggressive solid player on the back row. She communicates very well and I think that kind of helps everyone know where she is at and where they need to be. It takes some of the pressure off of our hitters.”
JV
The Lady Tigers JV team opened play on Tuesday by toppling Anderson County in straight sets — 26-24 and 25-16, and then followed by dispatching Fort Scott in three sets — 25-20, (25-22) and 15-8.
Freshman team
The Lady Tigers freshman team fell to Anderson County in two sets — by scores of 25-19 and 25-22. The NHS freshman squad then rebounded, earning a three-set 27-25, (25-20), 25-11 victory over Fort Scott.