Hornets sting Lady Waves for district loss

On Sept. 23, the Lady Waves traveled to a Hornets nest in Hancock County. When the Lady Hornets visited Meade County, they went home after losing in straight sets. They never were out of either set; they just couldn’t pull out a win. Monday, the Lady Hornets were at home, and determined to return the favor on the visitors from the east.

Meade started out well. They led the first set from start to finish, behind the hitting of Bliss and Scarlett Powers and LeAnna Luney. The one thing that stood out was the determination of their opponents, even in the loss. At the end of the set, the score stood 25-20.

Photos by Bill Rosacker
Pictured above is Heather Darnall, ready to return serve in the Sept. 23 game against Hancock County.

Confidence in your abilities is a good thing. Too much confidence can make one complacent and that is what Meade County displayed. They seemed to take the Lady Hornets lightly, and suffered the consequences.

Meade led 2-1 early in the second set, and then the Lady Hornets took the lead. Taking the lead seemed to pump life into the entire team. Meade’s heavy hitters were doing just that. Smashing the ball for what could have been sure points. Only Hancock County was digging everything in sight. Hard hits by Meade were volleyed into play, and hits by the Lady Hornets turned into well-placed kills. In the middle of the set, the Lady Waves knew they were in a dogfight.

These Lady Waves did not quit. They started a slow comeback after a time out by Head Coach Jennifer Smith with the score 12-7 in favor of Hancock County. They closed the gap to 22-21 but Hancock County scored three straight points and won the set 25-20.

On serve, Hancock County ran off three straight points before Meade could get a side out and a point. Two servers later, the Lady Hornets put a four-point run and the score stood 8-2. The next four points by Meade County were on kills by Bliss Powers (3) and Scarlett Powers (1). Unfortunately, while Meade was scoring one at a time, Hancock County was scoring in two’s and the score stood at Hancock County, 13, Meade, 7. Meade closed the gap to 16-14 and 18-15, but Hancock County ran off three unanswered points to bring the score to 21-15. Meade tried to come back and ran off four more points.

In the end, Hancock County emerged victorious 25-19. This drops Meade County to 3-2 in district play with the district tournament (hosted by Meade County) to be played Oct. 12-15.

Statistics: Blair Brangers – 14 digs, 5 kills, 1 ace; Heather Darnell – 12 Digs; Kelcie McCoy – 31 digs, 28 assists, 1 ace; Bliss Powers – 10 digs, 17 kills, 1 block; Erin Sireno – 30 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace; Olivia Wright – 3 digs, 2 kills; Kayla Biggs – 3 digs; Scarlett Powers – 11 digs, 2 assists, 6 kills, 5 aces; Rebecca Clark – 19 digs, 1 assist; Rachael Johnson – 13 digs, LeAnna Luney – 9 digs, 8 kills, 3 blocks; Rachael Powers – 5 digs, 2 kills, 1 ace.