Wednesday, August 29, 2001
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Wednesday, August 29, 2001 |
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Lady Chiefs and Panthers volleyball teams playing well
By MICHAEL
BOYLAN The McIntosh Lady Chiefs varsity volleyball team has opened the season strong and is undefeated in region play. Last Thursday, McIntosh faced several powerhouse squads. Their first match was against Lassiter, which jumped out to an early lead on the Lady Chiefs. McIntosh battled back in the first game to even the score at nine behind strong net play from Megan Bartels and Jenny Dunn. McIntosh won the first game but came out flat in the second game and lost. The third and final game was hotly contested, with both teams putting together long rallies. Tied at 15, Lassiter took the final two points for the win. The second match was against St. Pius and McIntosh came out slow, falling behind 9-1 early. The Lady Chiefs gained momentum, thanks to great serving by Whitney Wallis and Allison Cheatham and won the game, scoring eight of the final nine points scored. St. Pius took the second game but McIntosh dominated the third and final game. Tara Hamilton, Natalie Crowley and Lisa Watkins all played very strong floor games to give McIntosh the match. The third and final match was against Landmark Christian. The first game was tied at eight points a piece when Landmark capitalized on several McIntosh mistakes to capture the win. The Lady Chiefs started the second game strongly, but the Lady War Eagles battled back to tie the score at nine before putting McIntosh away toward the end of the game. The Lady Chiefs traveled to McEachern yesterday to face McEachern, Srayberry and Pope. They will take on Starr's Mill and East Coweta Sept. 4 at East Coweta High School at 4:30 p.m. Last week was a winning week for the Lady Panthers volleyball team at Starr's Mill High School, with the team once again dominating the courts and outscoring their opponents 120-51. "We have improved at working together as a team," said head coach Dottie Licciardi, "especially our offensive game at the net. The team is really putting it together offensively with 62 kills for the week," she added. "That is our best team record at the net in one week." The young Starr's Mill team also scored 34 service aces and was credited with 41 digs. To date, the team has a winning record of 11 wins and four losses. Last Tuesday, the Lady Panthers beat Decatur 15-13, 15-5, and Stockbridge 15-3, 15-4. Action Thursday included wins against Pace Academy 15-13, 15-1 and Sandy Creek 15-9, 15-3. Continuing to lead the team in individual stats is senior and co-captain Cari DePalma with 21 kills and six service aces. Erin Houghtaling, a junior and co-captain, scored 12 digs and 13 kills. Junior Lauren Dillon was credited with 13 kills, and sophomore setter Stephanie Dazey earned 25 assists. Licciardi revealed the practice focus for the upcoming week will be "putting the ball into our setter's hands, especially from the serve receive area." Also getting special attention will be improving the team's serving record when under pressure. "We should never miss the first serve of a game, a serve in the last three points of the game, after a time-out substitution, or when the previous server has missed," remarked Licciardi. It will be another exciting week in volleyball beginning this Tuesday, as Starr's Mill will compete at home against Athens Academy, currently ranked 13th in the state. Thursday, Starr's Mill, Sandy Creek and Fayette County will meet at Sandy Creek. Game time for both matches is 4:45 p.m.
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