The Fleming County Lady Panthers hosted the St. Pat Lady Saints on the volleyball court Thursday night.
Both teams entered the contest hungry for a win, Fleming County sitting at 2-10 on the season, winning their first contest of the year against Lewis County 3-2, then dropping ten straight before defeating the Mason County Lady Royals 2-0 this past Tuesday. St. Pat entered the contest 0-4 on the year, eager for a shot at picking up their first win of the season.
Early on in the first set, the Lady Panthers built up a substantial lead, leading 10-0 over the Lady Saints. Eventually St. Pat would begin working a comeback, still down 13-2. Three points scored by Lillian Klee would continue to pull the Lady Saints score up, although FLeming County still led 17-5. Late in the set, the Lady Saints would work to close the gap, coming back 18-9, but would be unable to catch up to Fleming County’s already large lead. The Lady Panthers took set one 25-13, and entered set two ready to build up another strong early lead.
In set two, the Lady Panthers would once again be able to build up a comfortable lead early in the set, quickly leading 10-4 over St. Pat. Fleming County would close out set two, leading 25-8, now 2-0 in the contest.
“I thought we served really well, when we serve agressive and they stay out of system I think good things happen.” said Lady Panthers head coach, Tanna Higginbotham.
The Lady Panthers felt confident coming into the early points of set three, but the Lady Saints proved their unwillingness to quit.
With an early 13-5 lead, St. Pat worked hard to maintain their point deficit, hoping to close out the set and pick up a victory late in the game. Fleming County would fight back midway through, trying to close the gap between the two teams, St. Pat still leading 17-9. As the set continued, the Lady Saints remained on top, closing out the set 25-13.
“We just had a lot of lack of communication, not moving out feet, just standing at watching. It’s hard to be successful when you’re standing and watching. I think that was our problem in set three.” said coach Higginbotham.
The Lady Panthers were able to regroup in between sets, coming out in the top of set four able to once again build up a solid lead early over the Lady Saints.
Quickly, Fleming County led 10-2 over St. Pat, a lead they would continue to expand upon as the set continued. The Lady Panthers closed out set four 25-8, adding another victory to their column.
“We’ll take wins however we can get them, I thought we played kinda slow tonight but we’ve been in a big slump so any way that we can get a win, we’ll take it.” said coach Higginbotham.
Following this contest, Fleming County has improved their record to 3-10 on the season, and now gears up to head to Augusta on Tuesday, looking to take on the other Lady Panthers hoping for yet another win. St. Pat’s next contest will be on the road to Paris on Tuesday, where they will take on the Lady Hounds for the second time this season, as they look to bring in their first win of the year.
“We’re gonna just keep practicing. Working on moving at practice, moving quick, serve receive, keeping our serve strong, just all parts of the game.” said coach Higginbotham.