Jr. Lady Cyclones drop heartbreaker to Vance
Published 1:25 am Thursday, September 5, 2019
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders A Jr. Lady Cyclone sends the ball back across the net toward the Vance defense.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Jr. Lady Cyclone Ava Owen spikes the ball across the net with a Vance Jr. Lady Viking directly in the path of the ball.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Bailee VanHuss of T.A. Dugger serves the ball across the net for her team.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
The T.A. Dugger Jr. Lady Cyclone volleyball team was looking to come out Tuesday afternoon against the visiting Vance Jr. Lady Vikings in an attempt to shake off a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde persona as of late.
Coach Kendall Iverster’s team has dropped four games after coming out and playing a strong first game only to transform into a different team going into the match’s second game that eventually leads to defeat.
Once again on Tuesday, the Jr. Lady Cyclones came out in dominating fashion to take the first game of the match 25-16 before Vance put together a rally in game two to even the match at one game each forcing a third game to 15.
The ladies from TAD just couldn’t pull it together as unforced errors were more of a problem than what the Jr. Lady Vikings were able to offer to lead to a win for the visitors from Bristol.
“We are really good at that,” Ivester said about the transformation that her team has shown of late after the first game of the match. “The past couple of games that has been the T.A. Dugger slogan.
“We do great the first game and then I don’t even know what it is after that. We are getting in our heads. We think that hey we have won the first set we’ve got this.
“We don’t step on that court every time thinking hey this is a battle,” Ivester continued. “It’s just a mind game and we are losing it right now.
Ivester did say that she has seen great growth in the team from the first time that she took over the program, however.
“Our defense from when I first got this job to now has improved so much,” Ivester said. “We are finally understanding that we have to cover the short balls, we have to move on the deep balls.
“Our setting and hitting are improving game by game. It’s in those games when we can’t get the pass up to the nets and get the set and kill to finish the point is what is hurting us. And also not talking and communicating is still an issue.
“But overall everything is really improving from the start of the season to now.”
