Gilmer High volleyball was back on the court and claimed a nonregion win.
The Lady Cats hosted the Murphy, N.C. Bulldogs and North Murray Mountaineers Monday, and both matches needed three sets. Murphy was up first and defeated the Cats 2-1 ahead of Gilmer’s 2-1 victory versus North Murray.
Gilmer was on the road the following day at Dawson County. The host Tigers topped the Cats 2-0, and Lumpkin County won by the same margin.
GHS has a 2-7 overall record, which includes a 1-3 mark against region opponents. Head coach Donna Parks pointed to communication and digging as two areas that need improvement.
“They are having trouble staying vocal on the court ... not just in excitement but also calling out and letting each other know what is going on during play,” Parks said. “This is an essential part of the game. You can imagine not knowing where all your teammates are or not knowing if they are getting a ball or are ready for a set, etc. There has to be constant communication between players on the court.
“We have also been having trouble digging up balls in a way that they are up high enough and in the right direction to capitalize on a good hit back to the other side. We have worked almost solely on this the last two days at practice, using various drills to get everyone moving and getting to fast balls.”
In the opening set versus Murphy, the Cats appeared out of sorts as routine balls hit the floor for Bulldog points. Murphy went on an 11-2 run to begin the set en route to a 25-9 win.
Lady Cat Taylor McCormick was there for six kills in the second set as GHS rode a tide of solid play and momentum to a 12-5 edge. Murphy never got closer than seven points with GHS winning, 25-16.
The third set saw MHS get a quick 3-1 lead, and the Bulldogs were off and running and took the set and match, 15-4.
McCormick tallied eight kills and three blocks in the match. Setters Anneliese Vaughn had eight assists and nine digs, and Adrian Thompson was there for six and 13, respectively. Brooke Wilson tallied seven digs and three kills.
GHS got rolling with a first set win of 25-18 versus North Murray before the Mountaineers’ win of 25-23. The Cats claimed the match with a third set victory of 15-10.
GHS statistics: aces- Libby Pike (four), McCormick, Wilson, Hali Hice (two each). Thompson, Vaughn (one). Kills- McCormick (11), Thompson, Wilson, Hice (four). Pike (two). Blocks- McCormick (three) and Vaughn (one). Assists - Vaughn (16) and Thompson (six).
Also, digs- McCormick (nine), Pike, Gracie Cain (eight), Thompson (six), Vaughn (four), Wilson (three), Aliza Chastain, Arifah Jones (two).
Both Dawson and Lumpkin won with room to spare over the Cats with respective victories of 25-7, 25-13 and 25-14, 25-14.
Notable stats versus Dawson included McCormick with five kills and four assists by Vaughn. McCormick, Thompson and Pike all had three digs.
Against Lumpkin, McCormick, Thompson and Wilson all scored three kills. Vaughn had five assists and five digs. Thompson recorded eight digs and three assists. Vaughn also had two blocks and an ace.
“This week we are moving a few players around to try to have a more successful rotation,” said Parks. “We are not hardly halfway through the season, so things can still change, but we have to try to fix things when they aren’t working for us.”
The Cats returned to the court at press deadline to take on Rome and Dalton. Gilmer will host Dawson and White counties Thursday with the first match set for 5 p.m.