Volleyball, the ‘other’ jamboree
By Sam Muffoletto
"We had to switch the lineup (Tuesday) to accommodate her (Borne) not being there," said Colombo. "We had to move (outside hitter) Hailey Callahan to middle-hitter and then pulled one of my juniors, Kelsi Walker, who hasn't had any experience yet on varsity, and put her in. "We had played two scrimmages and played really well when we had all six of them in the positions that they play," said Colombo. "So I thought it was just a matter of trying to survive today." Live Oak found themselves in a quick 9-3 hole to U-High and never really recovered.
Some of the Lady Eagles' bright-spots in Game 1 was a cross-court kill by Tori Bankston, a nice block by Hailey Callahan, a kill by Valarie Aucoin and an ace from Kierra Hayes. McKinley jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Lady Eagles, before a Live Oak rally via a kill and service ace from Aucoin and a pair of nice returns for points from Kaycie Wolfanger give the Eagles an 8-6 lead. The game remained close during the middle-part of the match, with Hayes leading Live Oak's effort with a pair of nice push-shots over the net for points.
The Lady Panthers broke a 12-all game with three straight points and never trailed again, as McKinley served up four aces in outscoring Live Oak 9-2 down the stretch. Unlike the first two matches, Live Oak scored the first point of Game 3 against Glen Oaks and never trailed throughout, as Hayes served up two early aces and Aucoin one to help power the Lady Eagles out to a 7-3 lead. Wolfanger got into the service action with an ace of her own, while kill apiece from Hailey Callahan and Torn Bankston helped Live Oak maintain their cushion at 14-9. Glen Oaks pulled as close as three points at 15-12, but a kills by Wolfanger and Aucoin and game-ending ace from Aucoin sealed the six-point win for the Lady Eagles.
"Even though we did change the rotation, we still didn't do some things that we need to do," said Colombo. "They didn't pass well. They didn't talk and communicate, and they didn't play well together as a team. And those are the things we need to focus on for the season, which starts on Monday." Live Oak will host Zachary in a non-district match in the Lady Eagles' gym on Monday.