Is Cave Spring volleyball back to its dominating ways?
That was the question Monday night in the Patrick Henry gym as the Knights were still in regrouping mode after suffering their first loss of the season last Tuesday against rival Hidden Valley.
Cave Spring, who defeated Pulaski County last Thursday and tuned up their game in the abbreviated Tournament of Champions showcase over the weekend, made a statement with a 25-14; 25-20; 25-13 sweep over the Patriots.
“Our energy was better tonight,” Cave Spring head coach Tamalyn Tanis noted after the win. “We’re still tweaking our lineup and tweaking our defense.”
Cave Spring senior Hope Sitze, whose left-handed serve led to point rallies for the Knights all night, agreed Cave Spring is poised to make a late-season move.
“We’re working harder and are focused on being more intense,” Sitze said. “We’re playing better as a team.”
The Knights broke away from a 4-4 tie in the first set to go up 17-11. They finished strong with a 8-3 run to take the set.
Patrick Henry hung tough in the second set, leading 14-13, and still tied at 16, before Cave Spring took advantage of PH errors to go on a 9-4 surge to secure the set-win.
The Knights left nothing to chance in the third as Sitze’s serve jumped the Knights from a 4-3 lead to a 9-3 lead. PH trailed 18-10 when Cave Spring went to a 6-0 run to get to match-point at 24-10. The Patriots fought off three straight match points before Cave Spring got the clincher.
“They have some big players and run a very fast offense,” PH senior Taylor Eichelberger pointed out after the match. “We shied away from hitting our shots and had some bad serves. It was nerves. We had some opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of.”
Piper Roe led Cave Spring with 15 kills, while Morgan Starnes added 7 and Meagan Harrison 5. Harrison also put up 30 assists as the Knight setter and Christy Goldsmith was 16-of-16 on serves. Alayna Foutz had 11 digs against PH to reach the 1000 career dig mark.
Eichelberger led PH with 10 slams and 11 digs, while Destiny Norman had 3 kills and 3 blocks. Olivia Pullin finished with 10 assists for the Patriots.
Bill Turner