ZEPHYR – Coming off the program’s most successful season in history, the Zephyr Lady Bulldogs started the 2024 volleyball campaign with a four-set 24-26, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 home victory over the Rising Star Lady Cats Monday afternoon.
Zephyr posted a 29-12 record in 2023 en route to the Region II-A semifinals, but head coach Joan Karnes realizes the 2024 squad is much different.
“I still want us to make it to the playoffs and as much as I would love it and my seniors would love it, it’s going to be hard to make it as far as we did last year,” Karnes said. “We have a lot of work to get there and I’m not saying it’s not possible, but this year it’s going to be more difficult just because of how green we are. But expectation-wise I definitely want us to make the playoffs again. After that, it’s up to them to put in the work, want it and go for it.”
Regarding the initial outing of 2024, Karnes said, “The first match is always rough, and we’ve got new players that came in, some players that came back, so trying to find their rhythm together is always fun. We had a scrimmage at Early Saturday and changed some positions a couple of times and today we stuck to that. We see our weaknesses, our mistakes and what we need to work on. But overall we have potential and I see how far we can go with that potential. Now it’s just going to be putting the build blocks together to get there.”
In the opening set, the Lady Bulldogs witnessed a 17-12 lead evaporate as Rising Star stormed back for a three-set victory.
But led by Haley Eason at the net and libero Ronni McClain on the back end, the Lady Bulldogs started to find their footing over the final three sets to secure the win.
After allowing the first three points of the second set, Zephyr rallied with the next seven for a 7-3 lead. The Lady Bulldogs maintained a 17-14 edge until Rising Star charged back for a 22-21 advantage. Zephyr then pulled even at 22 on a service error, the Lady Cats couldn’t get a Riley Hood serve back over the net for a 23-22 Lady Bulldogs edge, Eason delivered a kill and Hood served an ace to finish off the victory.
The pivotal third set saw Zephyr fall in an 11-7 hole, but used a 13-3 run to seize control at 20-14. Rising Star crept within 20-17, but kills from Eason and Nae’J Payne turned the tide back in the Lady Bulldogs’ favor, 22-17. Bailey Hector served the final point for Zephyr.
The Lady Bulldogs put the finishing touches on the win in the fourth set as they broke an 18-all tie when Payne recorded a point on a volley that found a hole in the Rising Star defense. The Lady Cats clawed back to within 21-20, but a hitting error followed by an ace from Payne and a spike from Eason ended the contest.
As for what Zephyr did best in its initial outing, Karnes said, “My libero was digging balls that probably weren’t hers to get, then my senior left hitter took some initiative and went for some balls that probably weren’t hers either. For those that aren’t used to this level of play, they needed to see that and understand that’s what they need to do and what they need to be capable of.”
Karnes added, “Where we need to improve is communication, making sure we’re aware of where the ball’s at at all times, making sure we’re ready the whole time and getting our setter where she needs to be. Getting more consistent sets will help us out, along with some of the middles being more confident in their hitting.”
The Lady Bulldogs are back in action at the Meridian tournament this weekend.
