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Good coverage lifts South Laurel past Bell County, 3-0
Aug 17, 2012 (The Sentinel Echo - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. -- The South Laurel Lady Cardinals might have won their season opener in straight sets over visiting Bell County, but it was anything but easy.
After rolling in the first set, 25-10, South fell behind early and trailed for most of the season set before staging a dramatic comeback to win, 28-26. From there, the Lady Cards wrapped up the match with a 25-14 win.
"I'm pretty impressed how we battled back in that second set," South Laurel coach Fawn Greer said. "I'm proud of them. They really gelled."
The Lady Cards (1-0) trailed throughout the entire second set, usually by four or five points. Greer wasn't thrilled with the way her team came out in the second set.
"After winning that first set, we were coasting," Greer said.
Then Tara Deaton took over serving late in the set with her team down, 23-19.
A block at the net by Alyson Croley cut the gap to 23-20. After another South point, Deaton served an ace to cut the lead to one, 23-22. South would score another point, and for the first time in the set, the score was tied, 23-23.
But a kill by Bell County allowed the Lady Bobcats to reclaim the lead, 24-23. Cassandra Johnson returned the favor for South with a kill of her own, tying the score, 24-24.
After Bell retook the lead, 25-24, they served the next point wide. The set would be tied one more time, 26-26, when Amy Cummins took over serving for South.
Deaton then set a nice ball for Taylor Arthur, who recorded a kill, and for the first time, South Laurel led, 27-26. Cummins then aced her next serve for the 28-26 win.
Bell County took an early lead in the third set and hung close until another set by Deaton and kill by Arthur gave the Lady Cards a 10-8 lead. From there, South Laurel continued to build on its lead.
Kaylee Norvell took over serving, and by the time she gave it back, the lead was 17-10. Johnson had a couple of big points during that run, along with a kill off a Deaton set.
When South got the serve back, it was Arthur's turn. A ace made it 19-10. A point by Deaton and a kill by Johnson pushed it to 21-10.
Bell County made one final run at South, closing the gap to 23-14 before Kesley Parsons took over serving. A kill by Cummins and a point by Whitney Wilt gave South a 25-14 win to sweep the Lady Bobcats.
"I thought our court coverage was amazing," Greer said. "And C.J. (Johnson) really stepped it up on the outside. She usually plays on the right side, but at the last minute we switched things up. She can play any position I use her at."
Greer said her team still needs to work on serving.
"We gave them too many points on the serve," Greer said. "I told them I'd rather the ball be served out than in the net. But I was pleased with our communication, and proud of the way they played their first game."
South Laurel was scheduled to host Rockcastle County Thursday night.
sports@sentinel-echo.com
___ (c)2012 The Sentinel Echo (London, Ky.) Visit The Sentinel Echo (London,
Ky.) at www.sentinel-echo.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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