The Patrick County High School Lady Cougars remained unbeaten in their home opener, beating Bassett in three sets, 25-23, 25-13, 25-21, on September 3. The win brought the Lady Cougars’ record to 3-0 on the season.
The first set was a nail-biter, with neither team able to maintain any momentum. The Lady Cougars fell behind early, 2-7. After fighting back to a 12-all tie, they would not trail again in the set. Bassett kept it close, but Patrick County held off the Lady Bengals to finish the set 25-23.
In the second, the Lady Cougars stormed out to a 10-3 lead with good hitting and not giving the Lady Bengals many easy points. The Lady Cougars never allowed Bassett to get close and finished the set 25-13.
Early on, the third set was much like the first, with both teams trading points. After a 4-4 tie, The Lady Cougars pulled out to a 5-point lead at 11-6, and didn’t allow the lady Bengals any multiple point runs big enough to close the gap to less than a couple points. The Lady Cougars took the set 25-21 for the match win.
“It was a good team win,” said Lady Cougar coach Heidi Moore following the game.
While happy with the win, Moore also saw areas that the team needs to improve. “We hit way too many balls out of bounds. We need to work on that throughout the season. Balls that we hit out should have been in, making them (Bassett) have a playable ball instead of an easy point.”
Coach Moore likes her team’s progress through three games. “I still think we could play better, but I think we’re going in the right direction for this season. They’re a lot of fun to coach. They’re trying. They’re giving everything they’ve got on every point.”
Leading the way for Patrick County was Jayden Callahan with 10 kills, 7 digs, and an ace. Eliza Clifton added 8 kills, 4 digs, an ace and a block.
Camille Gonzalez had 27 assists and 5 kills. Journey Moore chipped in 6 kills, 9 digs and 5 assists. Madison Scott finished with 4 aces and 7 digs.
