With a new and inexperienced coach, it’s been a challenging season for the McCracken County High School volleyball team. Judging from the results of Monday night’s district semifinal, however, the Mustangs are ready for the postseason and a long journey through it.
McCracken County dominated Community Christian Academy in every facet of the game, taking down the Warriors for the third straight time this season, 25-7, 25-6, 25-7 to advance to Tuesday night’s district championship match, set for 6 p.m. at McCracken County High School.
“This is my first season as coach and I’m only 22, so yeah, things have been kinda trying for us this year,” McCracken County Coach Izzy Myers said. “It’s taken a while for me to get to know the girls and for them to get to know me. I wasn’t sure what I was really expecting this year, but I know what the girls are capable of. This was a great way to start the postseason and I know that if we get rolling we’re going to be pretty tough to beat.”
McCracken County senior outside hitter Lily Hamilton agreed with her coach’s assessment.
“We were hoping for a better regular season than we had, but this wasn’t a bad way to get things going in the postseason,” Hamilton said. “We pretty much did what we wanted to do and needed to do tonight. Our hitters did a great job tonight and everyone just played solid. Now, hopefully we’ll get on a roll and see how far we can go.”
The Lady Warriors had no answer for the Lady Mustangs’ front line of Hamilton, McCoy Gregory, Mollie Canter and Shelby Hesley. McCracken County raced to a 12-3 first-set lead before scoring 10 consecutive points.
The second set saw the home team advance to a 14-2 lead and then 20-4 before closing out the set. The third set provided no drama, either, as McCracken County scored the first 10 points. The Lady Mustangs led by as many as 18 points, which turned out to be the final margin.
Hamilton said she and her teammates are looking forward to Tuesday night’s match.
“This is what we’ve been working for all year long,” Hamilton said. “Coach has been getting us prepared for this and now we’re ready to play.”
“I can’t wait to see just how far we can go,” Myers said. “If we hit a stride, there’s no telling what we’re capable of.”
McCracken County will take on Paducah Tilghman Tuesday night for the Second District Championship match set for 5:30 p.m. at Strawberry Hills Pharmacy Arena.