Perry was on the road to Luella Tuesday where it took on it and Union Grove. It beat the first 2-0 but fell to the second by the same margin. Against Luella, the Lady Panthers won 25-13, 25-16. Against Union Grove, they were close in the first but were edged out 25-22. The second was a bit tougher with Perry falling 25-13.
Still, “Our girls had a great day yesterday,” said Assistant Coach Jamie Stewart. “The girls came out strong against Luella and played great both offensively and defensively.
“Although the Union Grove game was not what we had hoped, it’s still early enough in the season that we can continue to correct and fine-tune some defensive errors before Region play begins next week.
“With one of our key players currently injured, we are impressed with and thankful for the girls’ flexibility to go where we need them to be on the court. They’re fighters and they are an incredible group of young ladies to coach.”
Standouts against Luella was very much a “group” effort, Stewart said, referring to the fact they had 11 kills corporately. Six of those did belong to Senior Leah Spears, with three more going to Senior Lativa Ray.
“Our serving game was very strong and defensively we were very strong in our passing game and blocking on the net,” she said.
Against Union Grove, Sophomore Rachel Dowd was a standout, Stewart said. She had five “momentum-changing” blocks.
Elsewhere, Veterans splits its matchups against Upson-Lee and First Presbyterian Day. It beat the first 2-0; 25-7, 25-10 but was edged out by the latter 2-0; 25-22 and 25-23.
Alasha Heard helped lead the squad with 18 kills and six aces. Katie Reiff had eight kills, six aces and four digs. Shaylen Brown put up three blocks and had four kills and Sydney Hudson had 18 assists.
Also, after beating Ola 2-1 back on Aug. 21, Warner Robins had the tables turned at the home of the Lady Mustangs.
The Demonettes fell 2-1 to them. They dropped the first 25-22, won the second 25-12, but were edged out in the third 16-14. They also came up short to Locust Grove 2-0; 25-11, 25-8.
“Even though we lost,” Demonettes Head Coach Cassie Bennett, “I was extremely proud of how my girls played. I feel like they played with integrity and grit. They played with a mental toughness that I haven’t seen from them in a while.
“Anna Slaughter did an awesome job (leading in kills and blocks again) staying focused and not getting rattled. Jessica Henry and Hannah Spalding also did a wonderful job taking charge both defensively and offensively.
“The loss against Locust Grove was a little embarrassing – those are actually the girls’ words, not mine. However, they didn’t let that roll over into the Ola game. We took Ola to three and only lost by only couple of points in the end, but they never gave up.
“So even though we lost, I am still proud of them and how they handled themselves.”
