Volleyball back in black and blue
photo by Taylor Philpot
Junior Olivia Price and senior Madison Drewry go up for a block.
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, the girls volleyball team defeated Lake Brantley 3-0 at home. Hagerty kept the lead in the first two sets scoring 25-18 and 25-13. But, after falling behind in the third set; outside hitter Alina Carrillo helped the team rally by racking up points on her serves, and the team went on to win the set 25-17.
“I knew that we were down, but I kept my cool and served consistently to keep my team in the game,” Carrillo said.
Carrillo led the team with 10 kills and outside hitter Brooke Stephens followed behind with 9 kills and had 16 digs.
“It was a big win for us and we knew it was going to be a tough game,” setter Kyla Mullen said, “but we were able to push through to the end.”
Head coach Juanita Hitt anticipated Lake Brantley’s big outside hitters and practiced defending the outsides prior to the game. This allowed for the team to receive the ball and have better ball handling to return it. Mullen came in with the most ball handling attempts at 57 and led the team in assists at 15, which earned her player of the match.
“I wanted the team to be able to change defense mid-game making the other team focus on us so we could get the defensive point,” Hitt said.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the team beat Osceola for the fourth win in a row(25-23, 25-17, 25-23). Carrillo set a new school record during the game for most kills in a match with 21, a record previously held by 2020 graduate Sydney Conley at 20.
“It was great to break a school record,” Carrillo said. “I was able to exploit Timber Creeks open spots to get the kills.”
Before the match coach Hitt knew that Osceola had a great setter and that they needed to take her out. The team played their hits to the setter so that Osceola couldn’t play a fast offense.
“The game was competitive and Osceola was one of the tougher teams we’ve faced, but we were able to finish the sets before Osceola could catch up,” opposite hitter Madison Drewery said.
After losing five D1 commit starters last season, the team was not sure how the new season would go.
“The players have come in this season with a great attitude and ready to play,” Hitt said, “with seniors like Madison Drewery leading by example and getting the younger team members hyped before a game.”
Coming towards the end of the season the team is 10-4. Carrillo leads the team with 133 kills and Mullen has the most assists at 177.
After finishing the regular season games vs West Orange and Oviedo the team will play Timber Creek at home on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. for the district semi-finals. Tickets can be purchased through Go Fan for $3 for students and $5 for parents.
“The team has been great, from great players to great connections. It has really helped with our success on the court,” Mullen said.
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