Lady Mustangs win in 5 sets over Whiteoak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — If there was ever a team that has improved vastly from the start of the season to the present, it would be the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs.
LC and visiting opponent Whiteoak battled and battled for a Southern Hills Athletic Conference victory, but five sets later, it was the improved Lady Mustang squad who defended their home court for the SHAC win against their Highland County counterpart.
The Lady Mustangs won sets one, two and five, while the Lady Wildcats won the third and fourth set. The winning scores for LC were 28-26, 26-24 and 15-12. The scores for the Lady 'Cats were 25-16 and 25-14.
LC head coach Mark Faust was pleased with how his team was able to not only compete, but win the SHAC match.
"This was far and away the best match we've played all year," Faust said. "It was just a difference in mentality. We came out with a good mindset and were enthusiastic, energetic and it showed.
"We really wanted the match tonight. Whiteoak played well, but we also played well."
As for what was the fifth and final set, the Lady Mustangs took a 2-0 lead, with one of the LC points from Tylar Griffith, but the score was then tied at 2-2, and later 4-4 and 9-9.
Later Whiteoak's Emma Wardlow brought the Lady 'Cats to within two points of tying the fifth set at 12-10.
But it was LC who was able to battle back and take control of the match with Vanessa Thiel scoring the final point and winning the match.
"We got a lot of good play from everyone in that fifth set and on the night," Faust said. "Kylie Camp really played well at the net defensively, and offensively Hannah Magie had a lot of kills. She hit the ball well. It you are going to have a good hitter, you are going to have good setters, and they all did well.
"This was a complete team win, all the way around."
[[In-content Ad]]For WHS head coach Don Rahe, he said he was proud of the way his team played in the loss.
"Both of the first sets we lost were really close, but let's give them (LC) some credit. They've had a tough season, and they played unbelievably well. Give them a lot of credit.
"I'm proud of our kids … they were in there scrapping and playing hard. Both teams played hard, and it was a great game to watch. Those first two games … that's where we had to win it.
"There was one point where it was close, and if it would have been overruled, it might have given us the momentum. But again, we should have never let it get like that."
Looking at the first two sets of the match, both LC wins, set one was tied a total of 15 times, including at 1-1 all the way to 25-25 and 26-26, until Morgan Gray and Hannah Magie were able to score the two-point advantage for LC and the set one win.
In set two, it was tied a total of five times, also at 1-1 and all the way to 24-24 until Griffith and Makayla Creed were able to get the set win for LC with the final two points of the match.
"We've had a lot of sets where we've lost 25-21 when it was 17-17, and we lost some steam at the end," Faust said. "(Monday) it was nice to see us win the first two sets the way they did, but after losing the third and fourth sets, to come back and win that fifth goes a long way.
"We played five freshmen (Monday), and multiple times we had three freshmen on the court, so if we can get over that hump of winning, it is only going to help us going down the road and even into next year."
LC has no seniors on the roster.
Again, Rahe said how proud he was of the hustle by his Lady 'Cats.
"They hustled, and I like seeing that," he said. "This is a tough loss for us. We beat them in the preseason, so let's give them a lot of credit … they are the most improved team I've seen in one year. In one year, their improvement is unbelievable. They should be proud of themselves."
LC and visiting opponent Whiteoak battled and battled for a Southern Hills Athletic Conference victory, but five sets later, it was the improved Lady Mustang squad who defended their home court for the SHAC win against their Highland County counterpart.
The Lady Mustangs won sets one, two and five, while the Lady Wildcats won the third and fourth set. The winning scores for LC were 28-26, 26-24 and 15-12. The scores for the Lady 'Cats were 25-16 and 25-14.
LC head coach Mark Faust was pleased with how his team was able to not only compete, but win the SHAC match.
"This was far and away the best match we've played all year," Faust said. "It was just a difference in mentality. We came out with a good mindset and were enthusiastic, energetic and it showed.
"We really wanted the match tonight. Whiteoak played well, but we also played well."
As for what was the fifth and final set, the Lady Mustangs took a 2-0 lead, with one of the LC points from Tylar Griffith, but the score was then tied at 2-2, and later 4-4 and 9-9.
Later Whiteoak's Emma Wardlow brought the Lady 'Cats to within two points of tying the fifth set at 12-10.
But it was LC who was able to battle back and take control of the match with Vanessa Thiel scoring the final point and winning the match.
"We got a lot of good play from everyone in that fifth set and on the night," Faust said. "Kylie Camp really played well at the net defensively, and offensively Hannah Magie had a lot of kills. She hit the ball well. It you are going to have a good hitter, you are going to have good setters, and they all did well.
"This was a complete team win, all the way around."
[[In-content Ad]]For WHS head coach Don Rahe, he said he was proud of the way his team played in the loss.
"Both of the first sets we lost were really close, but let's give them (LC) some credit. They've had a tough season, and they played unbelievably well. Give them a lot of credit.
"I'm proud of our kids … they were in there scrapping and playing hard. Both teams played hard, and it was a great game to watch. Those first two games … that's where we had to win it.
"There was one point where it was close, and if it would have been overruled, it might have given us the momentum. But again, we should have never let it get like that."
Looking at the first two sets of the match, both LC wins, set one was tied a total of 15 times, including at 1-1 all the way to 25-25 and 26-26, until Morgan Gray and Hannah Magie were able to score the two-point advantage for LC and the set one win.
In set two, it was tied a total of five times, also at 1-1 and all the way to 24-24 until Griffith and Makayla Creed were able to get the set win for LC with the final two points of the match.
"We've had a lot of sets where we've lost 25-21 when it was 17-17, and we lost some steam at the end," Faust said. "(Monday) it was nice to see us win the first two sets the way they did, but after losing the third and fourth sets, to come back and win that fifth goes a long way.
"We played five freshmen (Monday), and multiple times we had three freshmen on the court, so if we can get over that hump of winning, it is only going to help us going down the road and even into next year."
LC has no seniors on the roster.
Again, Rahe said how proud he was of the hustle by his Lady 'Cats.
"They hustled, and I like seeing that," he said. "This is a tough loss for us. We beat them in the preseason, so let's give them a lot of credit … they are the most improved team I've seen in one year. In one year, their improvement is unbelievable. They should be proud of themselves."