The Lady Cougar volleyball program travelled to Floyd County Wednesday for a JV and varsity matchup. The end result was a loss for both teams, but the varsity matchup went a full five sets to determine the winner.
In the JV matchup, the Lady Cougars fell in two sets, 14-25 and 21-25. Emma Sarver had 28 assists, two kills, and five points from serving. Lylah Minnick had four kills, five digs, two blocks, and two assists. Ellie MacDonald had five kills, three assists, and four digs.
“We struggled with our communication on the court and also struggled in our passing game,” JV Head Coach Duane Minnick said. “We gave away eight points off of serve errors as well. The girls started to show some grit and communication later in the second set, but it was a too little, too late kind of thing. Overall, I’m always proud of our girls and we will learn from our mistakes and work on those in practice.”
The varsity contest looked to be heading in the same direction, with Floyd County taking the first two sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-21. Pulaski County dig in and started playing better, winning the next two sets 27-25 and 25-21. This led to a fifth set to determine the winner. The two teams went back and forth in the beginning, but Floyd County pulled out the 15-11 set win to earn the match victory.
Elaina Aust contributed 18 assists and seven digs. Makenna Yates earned 23 digs. Leah Keefer had four kills, 21 digs, and 12 assists. Hannah Keefer set a new all-time Pulaski County record with 23 kills in the match. She also recorded 10 blocks, five aces, and 13 digs. Josey Smythers had five kills and three digs. Madolyn Legg earned four kills, two digs, and four blocks. Caroline Bishop had four kills and three blocks.
“We fought hard and it was one of the best games we’ve played so far this season,” Head Coach Kylee Conner said. “Every player was crucial to the way we played tonight and the heart we showed on the court. The game was intense, but those are the fun ones. Hannah Keefer dominated tonight and her stats show for it.”
The Lady Cougars are scheduled to travel to Roanoke Thursday to take on the William Fleming Colonels. Next week, the teams will host Cave Spring Tuesday, then travel to Blacksburg Thursday. JV action begins each night at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity contests.