In their first meeting this season on the biggest stage, McCracken County and Marshall County dueled it out Tuesday night in the semifinals of the First Region Volleyball Tournament. The Lady Mustangs continued their dominant run in the tournament after multiple double-digit runs led to the 3-0 sweep over the Lady Marshals.
“I think we really found our rhythm,” McCracken head coach Chancie Coleman said. “Postseason tends to be a lot of pressure on the girls, but the longer we play, the smoother they get with each other. You could tell they were all having fun. We loved our parents getting into it. They planned a whole theme and brought the fatheads, and that kind of support makes the girls so happy.”
There really couldn’t be much said other than McCracken executed to perfection throughout the whole match. Serving, blocking, and a great mix between power and finesse were all on point today for the Lady Mustangs.
“It’s one of the best parts of the season really,” Coleman said about how the girls are playing their best ball. “We just thrived. Our goal was relentless pressure from the service lien to the front row. We wanted to keep the pressure on them constantly and keep the speed of the game as fast as we can make it.”
The first set proved to be the most competitive. The match started off tied 4-4, as Taylor Dugan caused Marshall problems with some powerful serves, and Lady Marshal senior Olivia Hawkins responded with power of her own on a few spikes.
From there a quick six-point run by McCracken set the tone, and eventually held the 18-10 lead later in the set. The Lady Marshals responded with a string of three straight, but Caroline Presswood served two aces on a five point run to end the set 25-14.
In the second frame, McCracken jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead, and battled up to 11-7. From here they went on their first run that reached double figures, scoring a whopping 12 straight. During the streak, Penny Kirkham served aces twice, and Emily Hatfield came away with a few blocks. That set ended at 25-9, and gave McCracken a huge spark of momentum headed into the final set. Coach Coleman attributes these runs to an aggressive mindset established in practice.
“We play a lot of fast games in practice where if you make a mistake I don’t consider aggressive, you go back to zero. So they have learned to play with the confidence of knowing as long as they’re being aggressive, even if they make a mistake, it’s fine. But if they start to play scared, they go back to zero and have to fight for it all over again.”
The final set was all the Lady Mustangs. Lily Hamilton, who was great at the front line, served many aces in the third during a massive run, leading up to a 17-5 lead in the frame. From there the game coasted to the finish, McCracken finishing the set 25-7 and completing the 3-0 sweep over Marshall County.
McCracken will now face Graves County for an opportunity for their 13th straight region title, one every year the school has been open. The squads have yet to play this season, so they will come into this Wednesday night game with fresh faces and mindsets as a trip to the state tournament is on the line.
“We’re excited to see them. Like I said, we don’t play a lot in this area, so we watched them tonight. They’re another team that’s really big at the net around here. Their libero is impressive. I think the girls are just excited to play another game here in from of that crowd.”
The First Region Volleyball championship starts at 6 p.m. at Calloway County High School.