Lady Eagles Volleyball Team Sweeps Lexington
Court Presence… Lady Eagle senior volleyball player Jaci Gower digs the ball during Holden’s conference match at Knob Noster on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Gower is backed up by senior libero Emalee Haggard (6) on the play. Gower led the Lady Eagles in digs with 26 on the night. Photo by Steve Edwards
Playing on the road in a conference match-up, the Holden volleyball teams swept Lexington on all levels by winning the varsity, junior varsity, and C team matches on the night Thursday, Sept. 26.
The varsity match for the Lady Eagles was taken in a 3-0 final score with set scores of 25-18, 25-19, and 25-11 to close out Holden’s sweep on the night.
The Holden JV team took its best-of-three match in two sets with set scores of 25-4 and 25-23, as the C team won the first match of the evening in two sets with set scores of 25-23 and 25-22.
“Our biggest highlight for the week was all three teams winning against Lexington,” said Holden volleyball coach Emily Purnell. “This is C team’s first victory this season. I am incredibly proud of the girls’ perseverance this season. We have seen injury and been displaced from our gym, but they have never given up. They earned that win on Thursday, and we are going to take that momentum and keep moving forward.”
Lady Eagles Fall To Knob Noster
Playing at Knob Noster High School in a conference road contest, the Lady Eagles volleyball team fell to the Lady Panthers by the final score of 3-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
The Lady Panthers used late scoring runs late in both of the first two sets to go up 2-0 with set scores of 25-20 and 25-21. Knob Noster worked to a 13-6 lead midway through the third set and went onto take the set by a final score of 25-13.
The Holden volleyball team continues to work through injuries this season as the team also adapts to playing at least early-season matches on the road as ongoing work is under way in the Holden High School gym.
“Unfortunately, everyone is not back healthy,” said coach Purnell. “Lilly Carver is out with a sprained ankle. Grace Kendrick stepped back into the middle position from the right side to fill Lilly’s roll for now. Grace’s flexibility and work ethic allows the team to keep consistent while her position is changing. She knows what is best for the team and adapts without hesitation. She has shown her senior leadership this season.”
In regard to the ongoing work in the high school gym, coach Purnell reported last week that, “The timeline on completion is unknown. The schedule is constantly changing because we are trying to wait as long as possible to move home games.”
Versus Knob Noster, Jaci Gower led Holden in kills with 9, Izzy Guinn recorded 5 kills, Arionna Johnson knocked down 2 kills, and Emalee Haggard had 1 kill. Gower, Haggard, Brionna Johnson, and Cami Agee each had 1 service ace. Grace Kendrick had 1 block. Gower totaled a team-high 26 digs, Haggard had 16 digs from the libero position, Guinn recorded 15 digs, and Agee contributed 9 digs. Agee topped the team with 11 assists from the setter position with Hailee Lloyd adding 2 assists and Gower chipping in 1 assist.
At the end of last week, the Holden volleyball team held an overall record of 4-9, and stood at 1-2 in MRVC-East play.
The Holden volleyball team continues MRVC-East play this Thursday, Oct. 3, with a road match at Richmond. A JV contest starts at 5 p.m. on Thursday with a varsity match to follow.
The Holden volleyball team plays in the Archie Tournament at Archie High School this Saturday, Oct. 5. Start time for the tournament is 9 a.m.
