By Pat Delaney
The Lady Cougars honored their eight seniors in a pregame ceremony, then followed with a solid four-set victory over Galax on October 20. In a match that stayed competitive throughout, they prevailed 25-21, 28-26, 19-25, 25-17, closing out the night with a strong home-court performance.
Prior to the match, each of the eight seniors prerecorded a message that was played as family escorted them onto the court. Jayden Callahan, Brooke Collins, Camille Gonzalez, Bella Lemons, Journey Moore, Ginny Nations, Madison Scott, and Sydney Tatum were recognized for their contributions to the volleyball program.
“My gosh, some of them I’ve known since they were born. I’ve coached some since they were in fifth grade,” said Lady Cougar head coach Heidi Moore of her seniors, “so it’s sort of bittersweet to see it end.”
When the match got underway, the Lady Cougars went with an all-senior starting lineup that quickly took the lead at 4-3, and would never trail in the set. After holding off a late Galax run, Patrick County closed out the set, 25-21.
The second set was a nail-biter throughout with both teams playing great and extending points with hustle plays. Patrick County pulled out to a 17-10 lead, only to have Galax come back with a 7-1 run. At 18-17, the Lady Cougars answered with a run of their own, increasing their lead to 23-19. Galax fought off two set points to tie it up at 24-24. After swapping points, the Lady Cougars finished the set 28-26.
For the first half of the third set, neither team could extend any lead to more than a couple of points, tying at 14-14. A 6-1 Galax run gave them a 20-15 lead that they would hold on to, taking the set 19-25.
The Lady Cougars came out aggressively in the fourth, taking the early lead and wouldn’t allow Galax any closer than two points back. They slowly extended their lead throughout, closing out the set 25-17, and the match, 4 sets to 1.
“They had a good time, and they played really well,” said Moore. “I hate that we were a little flat in the third and couldn’t finish it in three sets. But they played really well and looked like they had a lot of fun doing it, which is what it’s all about.”
It was a big night for the Lady Cougar seniors, with Sydney Tatum leading the way with 15 kills and 3 blocks. Jayden Callahan had 13 kills, 6 digs and 2 aces, and Journey Moore finished with 8 kills, 20 digs and 5 aces. Camille Gonzalez had 8 kills, 25 assists and 16 digs while Madison Scott had 24 digs, 2 kills and 2 aces.
