The Cumberland County Lady Jets kept their guns blaring this week after rolling through 3-0 volleyball victories over Meigs County and Livingston Academy.
“We’ve been playing pretty well,” said Cumberland County coach Rodney Howard. “We have Ivy Watson back from injury and that was big for us. She brings a lot of energy and power.”
Cumberland County won the first set with Meigs by a score of 25-18, and then followed that with a 25-16 victory in set 2. The Lady Jets closed out the match with a 25-20 victory in the third set.
“In the first set, Meigs County came out and their game plan was to pressure us on serve receive,” said Howard. “We had played them before, so they knew our tendencies.
“They tried some high pressure serves, but we were able to take advantage of that by getting some passes up, helping us get some sets up at the net. We had a lot of kills today.”
Howard said serve receive is something his team focuses on in practice every day. He believes it is one of his team’s biggest asset. Howard believes if you can’t pass, you can’t play.
“Early in the second set, we were able to get five or six kills in a row,” Howard said. “If you’re playing somebody that keeps hitting on you, it is disheartening. It is a momentum breaker.”
Howard said he experimented in the third set of the match, taking a good look some ideas on both offense and defense.
Several players have been stepping up to help the blue and gold get the season off to a good start.
Howard said some of the players that have caught his eye are Tessa Hayes, Laila Howard, Dalana Inman and Carly Williams.
The Lady Jets won the junior varsity match with Meigs County by scores of 24-26, 25-22, and 15-8.
Last night, Cumberland County picked up another district win with a 3-0 decision over visiting Livingston Academy. CCHS won 25-13, 25-11 and 25-18.
The Lady Jets will hit the road Aug. 31 when they compete in the Clinton High School Invitational.