Young teams usually hit the proverbial wall at some point in a long sports season.
Heritage Christian Academy volleyball coach Grace Stewart is hoping her team comprised of no players older than sophomores grinds through an important stretch of their schedule this week.
The Lady Warriors dropped to 2-10 with a four-set loss to Webster County Saturday at Warrior Gym.
It was the third straight loss for HCA after a brief two-game winning streak. However, it was the fourth time in 10 losses the Lady Warriors took at least one set in the match.
HCA got off to a quick start, leading 8-2 before Webster County countered with a 9-2 run of its own to take an 11-10 lead. Chloe Soukup had a kill and an ace during the Webster run, and Bailey Allen added a pair of aces.
Brooke Burton put away three consecutive points to help Webster pull away for the 25-21 first set win.
It was Webster County that put together a quick start in the second set, taking advantage of some erratic HCA serving to claim a 25-15 win.
Heritage Christian fell behind early in the third set but battled back to forge ties at 9, 11, and 12. Bralee Fowler had four of her seven match kills in the set as HCA rallied for a 25-19 win.
The fourth set featured eight ties and four lead changes. Up 16-15, Webster used a 7-0 to take control of the set and match on its way to a 25-17 win.
Hadlee Hayes led HCA with nine kills, eight assists, and 10 digs, just missing a triple-double.
Katie Cansler also had nine kills along with five digs, and Makenzie McCarty had six kills, 14 assists, and four aces for the Lady Warriors.
Webster County evened its record at 5-5, led by Soukup’s 10 kills. Burton added seven kills, and Davi Outlaw served up six of Webster’s 19 aces.
HCA begins a busy week on Tuesday with the first of two straight district road matches. The Lady Warriors play at Fort Campbell on Tuesday, a squad they beat in straight sets on Aug. 31.
On Thursday at Tiger Gym, HCA plays its first match against Hopkinsville as seeding for the district tournament begins to take shape.
Next weekend in Louisville, Heritage will look to defend its title at the Kentucky Christian Athletic Conference State Tournament.
Stewart is hoping the coming week as well as the wRECk at the Plex on Sept. 22-23 will give her young Lady Warrior squad a chance to plot their course for the final month of the regular season.
