by Rusty Ellis
The Smith County Lady Owls got their season off to a good start with a 3-0 sweep over the Cumberland County Lady Jets on Monday night.
The first set saw a lot of back-and-forth action, as the score remained within two points for a majority of the set. Smith County took control at the midpoint of the frame however, as they won the first set 25-16 to take a 1-0 lead.
Cumberland County appeared to come out with more energy in the second set, as they were in full control early with an 8-3 lead that prompted a Smith County timeout. The Lady Jets continued to push that lead, as it got up to 14-7 at one point.
From there however, the Lady Owls closed the set on a 18-8 run to win 25-22 and take a commanding 2-0 lead into the third.
There, Smith County took an early 7-1 lead and never looked back, as they claimed the third set 25-18 to close out the sweep of Cumberland County to open the season.
For head coach Krissa Hackett, Monday’s performance was a great way to start the season, and it also served as a benchmark for how far her team had come from a year ago.
“That was a team that beat us pretty convincingly a year ago,” Hackett said. “I feel like we played really well today, our starting Libero was out today, so we made some adjustments…so I feel really good to come out and win 3-0.”
The second set saw the Lady Owls face and handle some adversity after falling behind early, something that Hackett said she spent all summer preaching to her team.
“We talked a lot about how we would need to keep pushing when facing adversity,” Hackett said. “We’ve been working on not giving up any free points, and they’re doing a great job so far.”
The Lady Owls will turn around quickly and play on the road against White County on Tuesday, a team they’ve recently scrimmaged.
Hackett says she hopes her team carries that confidence into Tuesday’s match.
“We feel really good after a win like this to open the season, so I hope we carry over that energy,” Hackett said. “We scrimmaged them last week, so we’ll have to make some adjustments, but I think the girls will be confident going into that match.”
