Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Cookeville Lady Cavs opened their 2021 campaign with a dominant 3-0 win over district foe Lebanon on Tuesday.
The two teams battled back-and-forth in the opening two sets, with the Lady Cavs coming out on top by scores of 25-20 and 25-19, respectively. Cookeville’s energy in the third set proved to be too much for Lebanon to handle, as they cruised to an early-season district win 25-13 in the final set.
“I’m happy with where we’re at to start the season,” head coach Lucas Martin said. “We still have a lot of things to work on, but the girls are raring to learn. They’re energetic, great teammates and they fight for every point.”
This marked the beginning of a new season in a brand-new district, and Martin says he likes playing the tougher competition to help prepare for the postseason.
“I’m actually excited for this new district,” Martin said. “I’ve alway liked playing good competition, win or lose…all that matters is that you’re prepared at the end of the season. If that means we play tougher competition to get there, so be it.”
The energy the Lady Cavs played with is nothing new for Martin, but it’s something they’ll need to continue if this team wants to get to where it wants to be.
“Energy is huge,” Martin said. “When we play the Siegels, the Brentwoods, the Houstons, our tall players are average. If we don’t have energy, defense and coverage, we’re not going to hold our own.”
