By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Fair Grove, Mo. — For the second time in less than a week, Rogersville rolled to a straight-set victory over Fair Grove.
After defeating the Lady Eagles in the Willard Invitational Tournament, the Lady Wildcats notched a 25-14, 25-20 win in Fair Grove Thursday night.
In both sets, Rogersville utilized aggressive play and big runs to seize momentum.
With the score tied 5-5 in the opener, the Lady Wildcats ripped off an 11-3 run to gain control en route to a 25-14 victory.
Rogersville head coach Tammy Miller praised her team’s execution in the opening set.
“I felt like my kids were in tune with what was going on,” Miller said, “I felt like we stayed in-system, and we passed extremely well that first set. Our three options … you have to honor all three of them,” Miller said. “Because all three options in the front row can attack.”
Birdie Hendrickson, Claire Taylor and Allie Gipson all contributed kills during the Lady Wildcats’ momentum swing.
While Fair Grove would rally in the second set, the Lady Eagles were unable to build on an early, 4-1 lead.
Throughout the set, Rogersville’s front line consistently killed opposing rallies before they got out of hand. Taylor, in particular, made the most of her opportunities at the net and consistently found open space around and over attempted blocks.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
Nursing a one-point lead at 11-10, the Lady Wildcats jumped out on a run of their own on a Taylor kill-spree.
The 5-foot-8 junior hitter tallied three kills in a row to help push the Rogersville lead to 16-10.
“I think we just really focused on our serve-receive and focused on getting a good pass,” Taylor said. “We can run a good offense from there, and it all kind of clicks together. I just focused on reaching and getting a good contact on the ball. I think they were giving me the line, so that’s what I was focused on.”
Taylor led the Rogersville attack with 11 kills.
“Claire’s been playing really good,” Miller said. “I think her whole game is getting better and better. She’s becoming more aware of the court. They gave her certain parts of the court, she took advantage of them and she saw the block really well.”
Still, Fair Grove wasn’t going to go away quietly.
Bailee Morgan responded with back-to-back kills to spark a 9-3 Lady Eagles run that tied up the score at 19-19.
With clutch time approaching, Hendrickson notched a pair of kills and Maci McHenry a third to put Rogersville back in control at 23-20. The Lady Wildcats closed out the set and match on a back-to-back hitting errors by Fair Grove.
Sydney Dunavant led the Lady Wildcats with nine digs, while Samantha Thompson added 27 assists.
After watching her team fight its way back and then have an equalizer slip away, Fair Grove head coach Tonya Peck lamented the early lapses.
“Volleyball is a crazy sport,” Peck said. “The things that tended to go south for us tonight had nothing to do with stats; the un-stattable component of volleyball. I think that’s what held us back in that first set. We have the threats and weapons to get people out of system, but in the first set we were just back on our heels hoping we could do that. In the second, we actually attempted it and went for it.”
Alana Findley led the Lady Eagles with eight kills and three blocks, while Shannon Collins added nine digs. Maranntha Holliman and Ryah Icenhower contributed eight and seven assists, respectively.
Up next for Rogersville (30-2) is a trip to Mt. Vernon Tuesday, Oct. 16, to close out the regular season. Fair Grove (23-5-2) starts the first of its final three games next week with a home match against Clever Monday, Oct. 15.
Varsity final: Rogersville – 2, Fair Grove – 0 (25-14, 25-20)
JV final: Rogersville – 2, Fair Grove – 0 (25-19, 25-16)
Frosh final: Rogersville – 2, Fair Grove – 0 (25-15, 25-10)
