Gilmer High volleyball opened its season against hard-hitting Chestatee.
GHS made the trip to Hall County last Thursday to take on the host War Eagles, and they proved to be a formidable opponent.
Since it was a nonregion match, they played the best out of five sets, and Chestatee won, 3-0.
“I was pleased that we played a whole lot stronger than we did in our scrimmage matches at the end of July,” said head coach Maria Huelsman. “They played hard the whole entire time and never shut down, which was awesome.
“We only had four service errors the entire match, and our passing was so much better. We just have to finish the drill, finish the kill. We have to get better on our attacking to get those points we need.”
Chestatee’s offense was powered by Valiree Schmus, who was attempting to score her 1,000th career kill. She helped lead the War Eagles to set wins of 25-10, 25-15 and 25-8.
“Their outside hitters were amazing, and thankfully she didn’t get her 1,000th kill against us,” Huelsman said. “We were able to get some blocks on her and started forcing her to hit around us.”
Huelsman and the Lady Cats discussed the match afterward, and players indicated Chestatee is similar to top region opponent Wesleyan.
“They played this team hard even though the score might not reflect that,” Huelsman said. “We’ve played teams that have been just like this (including scrimmages) so far. The girls aren’t discouraged, they’re upbeat and they’re ready to keep working.”
A recap of Gilmer’s Monday match versus Christian Heritage will appear in next week’s Times-Courier.
GHS will host Fannin County Thursday at 5 p.m.