The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets girls’ volleyball team was eliminated in the opening round of the 5A Division II playoffs.
Easley won 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22) over the Jackets dropping them in the first round.
“We started off slow,” said Fort Mill head coach Makala McCrorey. “They had good energy to start and we didn’t respond. I am proud of the growth the team had this year.”
Fort Mill came out struggling to return serves early in the first set as Easley went up 8-5. Easley added two more points before a Jackets timeout down 10-5.
Fort Mill was able to work their way back into the set closing within three at 15-12 before an Easley timeout.
The Jackets continued to keep it close, but struggled to surge ahead and take the lead. Easley caused mistakes on their end for Fort Mill playing shots where they weren’t able to return them properly.
The Jackets opened the second set starting 5-1. That lead was short lived as Easley came back and tied it at eight. The Green Wave would then pull ahead 14-9 and keep a commanding lead.
Again, Fort Mill clawed their way back into the set pulling within three at 17-14 and then tied it at 19. The two teams continued to trade points as Easley edged Fort Mill to take the second set.
Despite falling behind two sets to none, Fort Mill started the third set going up 6-1 before a Green Wave timeout.
The quick start aided the Jackets as they extended their lead to 12-5. Fort Mill stayed focused and forced Easley to regroup with a timeout as they led 17-9. After the timeout, the Green Wave reeled off five consecutive points to make it 17-14. The rally didn’t phase Fort Mill as they maintained the lead and got back in the match winning the third set.
The fourth set saw neither team assert themselves early on as they traded points back and forth.
The Jackets pulled ahead 10-7 scoring three straight. Fort Mill worked that lead to 13-8 as Easley took a timeout.
The Green Wave rallied tying the set at 19 and then scored three of the next four going up 22-20 as the Jackets pushed to regroup in a timeout. Easley was able to hold the lead winning the fourth set and the match.
Fort Mill finished the season at 10-10 overall.
Oct. 31 Roundup
The Nation Ford girls’ tennis team won their first-round playoff match 6-0 against Greenwood. Getting wins for the Falcons were No. 1 Ava Baldino 7-5, 4-6, 10-5; No. 2 Ansley McDonald 6-0, 6-1; No. 3 Piper Land 6-1, 6-1; No. 4 Eva Mabey 6-0, 6-1; No. 5 Reagan Newman 6-1, 6-1; and No. 2 doubles Claire Kaltenbach and Tejal Guntuboyina 6-2, 6-1. The win improves Nation Ford to 11-3 on the season as they move on to face Greenville on the road Nov. 5 in the second round.
The Catawba Ridge girls’ tennis team beat Woodmont 5-1 in their first-round playoff match. Winning for the Copperheads were No. 2 Gianna Toscano 6-3, 7-5; No. 3 Skylar White 6-1, 6-0; No. 4 Katelyn Evans 6-0, 6-0; No. 5 Abby Russell 7-6, 6-1; and No. 2 doubles Jane Rohrmeier and Meredith Reynolds 6-1, 6-3. Catawba Ridge heads to Riverside for their second-round match on Nov. 5. The Copperheads are 8-7 on the season after the first-round win.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
