Gilmer High earned a victory on a night when it honored its senior volleyball players.
The Lady Cats hosted the West Hall Spartans and White County Warriors last Tuesday. West Hall was up first, and the Cats won, 2-0. White County toppled the Cats by the same margin in the final match of the day.
After an eventful opening set win of 25-23 over the Spartans, GHS won the second, 25-17.
“I messed up the rotation in the first set, so it was all out of whack,” said head coach Maria Huelsman. “We were looking like a hot mess, but that was on me. They came out and lit a fire in the second set, but kind of went into cruise control at the end, so I wasn’t too happy with how we finished.”
The Cats surged ahead 13-3 in the second set. They still held a commanding advantage at 22-11 before WHHS was able to trim the Cats’ lead to eight points.
GHS had a strong day at the service line where senior Anneliese Vaughan scored five aces, while Caylee Elrod was there for four. Vaughan added four assists and two kills, and Elrod finished with three kills.
Seniors Hali Hice and Libby Pike tallied three and two kills, respectively. Pike also had three digs and two aces. Madison Bradshaw provided four assists, two kills and an ace.
Not much separated GHS and White County early, as the Warriors built a 6-8 lead. The Warriors’ strong net play allowed them to distance themselves for a 16-8 advantage en route to a 25-15 win.
White continued to score kills in the second set, and coupled with strong serves, it put the Cats in a 20-1 hole. GHS managed five more points before the Warriors scored 25 for the victory.
“First set they played really well, and I was proud of their effort,” said Huelsman. “In the second set, we couldn’t return the serve.”
Gilmer closes out the regular season this week at Wesleyan. The region tournament is set to begin Oct. 10. Huelsman hopes the Cats remain confident and is anticipating some lineup changes heading into the final stretch.
“It’s been our Achilles’ heel, not being able to finish,” Huelsman said. “I think they learned a big lesson when they beat Sonoraville that they can do it, but they have to want to do it. I’ll probably make some change that will make us stronger at the net.”