The start of the volleyball season wasn’t what Catawba Ridge head volleyball coach Alicia Lisee wanted, but things are better now.
The Copperheads struggled some to start the season, but since Region 3-4A play has started, they have found a new gear and are 4-0 in region play. They are 6-5 overall on the season.
“I want our schedule to be tough as possible even if we get a couple losses,” Lisee said. “I feel good. We have got a strong group. We are solid and they are working hard.”
The hard work was evident Thursday when they beat Indian Land 3-0 (25-5, 25-19, 25-7) in The Arena.
Catawba Ridge jumped out to a 9-2 lead scoring nine of the first 11 points in the opening set against Indian Land. Indian Land tried to regroup and took a timeout, but the deficit only grew after the break.
Catawba Ridge extended their lead to 19-5 forcing Indian Land into another time out before closing out the first set with six consecutive points.
The second set was a lot closer as the two teams traded the first eight points and were tied at 4-4 before the Copperheads went on a 5-0 run. Indian Land battled back to pull within one at 11-10, but again Catawba Ridge pulled away to go up 18-10.
Indian Land kept fighting and cut the lead to just four at 23-19, but never could put together a large enough rally to win the set.
The third set, like the first one, was all Catawba Ridge. The Copperheads never trailed and opened with a 9-3 run only to consistently attack the net and pull away to go up 14-4. Indian Land tried to rally, but again was left trying to find a way to regroup.
Catawba Ridge has almost been through the first round of region play with one more match to go against Northwestern next Tuesday, Sept. 19. After they play the Trojans, they will have seen every region team and will start the second round of region play looking to continue to build on each win.
The Copperheads have one more non-region match at the end of the month against Fort Mill at home and two more out-of-town tournaments before the end of the season.
Sept. 14 Roundup
The Nation Ford girls’ golf team set another school record with a 159 in a tri-match against Catawba Ridge and York at Spring Lake Golf Club. Vivian Harris led with a 35 for Nation Ford and was followed with a 39 from Katie Griggs and a 41 from Sara McCaskill. Piper Sabino shot a 44 to round out the scoring for the Falcons. Nation Ford is now 5-0 on the season. Catawba Ridge is now 4-1 and shot a 172. Both Reagan Lynch and Anjali Peddisetty each shot a 41, with Brooke Mehlhouse being one stroke behind at 42. Ella Rose Hill finished with a 48 for the Copperheads.
The Fort Mill girls’ golf team beat Rock Hill at the Tega Cay Golf Club 205-211. Fort Mill was led by Ava Starosky and Olivia Seifert who both shot a 47. Caroline Player finished with a 55 and Campbell Grant shot a 56 for the Jackets.
The Fort Mill tennis team fell to Clover 4-2 to drop to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in Region 3-5A play. Winning for the Jackets against Clover was Reagan Adams at No. 4 singles 6-4, 6-3 and Kendall McCarty and Abhi NellaReddy at No. 2 doubles 6-1, 6-3.
The Nation Ford tennis team beat Spring Valley 4-2 to improve to 2-1 on the year and 2-0 in Region 3-5A play. Winning for the Falcons was No. 2 singles Ava Baldino 6-0, 6-2; No. 3 singles Eva Amautovic 6-1, 6-2; No. 4 singles Lauren Padgett 6-0, 6-1; and No. 5 singles Alexa Brenner 6-0, 6-0.
The Catawba Ridge tennis team improved to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in Region 3-4 with a 6-0 win over South Pointe Thursday.
The Fort Mill girls’ volleyball team fell to Rock Hill 3-2 (12-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 7-15) and are now 6-2 overall on the season and 1-1 in Region 3-5A.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
