East Hardy Volleyball got tangled up in the net as the Lady Yellow Jackets swarmed the courts for a three-set match victory last Thursday in the Hive: 25-5, 25-23, 25-13.
“The first game they came out and it’s their homecoming week, so you worry about all the distractions going on. They came in and were really focused and the first game went pretty fast 25-5. That felt good to them, it was a great feeling,” Moorefield Volleyball Coach Morgan Hill-See commented.
“Second game, came back and got up, but we let our guard down a little bit. They clawed out of it defensively, we were scrappy and balls weren’t falling. We rotated a lot of new faces in there. Give the credit to all eight of them who were out there. They played well together and everything just came together. Any time you can beat East Hardy three and out, we’ll take it. They served well and placed the ball well. Every day we have to get better and as the season winds down, it can make or break you.”
Moorefield started the first set building a 3-0 lead on a kill by Alyssa Vetter, then an errant shot by the Lady Cougars and a tip for a point by Hanna Carlson.
An attack by East Hardy’s Rebecca Whetzel was met with a dig by Vetter and ricocheted out of bounds, then the Lady Yellow Jackets responded with a spike by Carlson.
After a volley by Carlson went out, the Lady Cougars hit the net thrice and a timeout came after Carlson added an ace for an 8-2 lead.
The next serve hit the net, then East Hardy’s serve from Makenzie Blair was kept in play by Moorefield’s Sydney Hardy and Rebekah Markwood took the pass from Lindsey Rinker for a spike.
Hardy served the ball into the net to make and the Lady Cougars took over briefly at the line as Molly Yates served an ace.
The Lady Yellow Jackets scored 16 consecutive points to close out the set which included seven aces by Markwood.
A net error by the Lady Cougars put Markwood at the service line for jump-style serving making two straight aces before teammate Gracie O’Neill made an attack which was redirected into the net.
Markwood nailed two more aces prior to a timeout and came back on the floor adding another ace for a 16-5 advantage.
An attack by Vetter was met with a carrying violation by the Lady Cougars, then an attack by East Hardy’s Rebecca Whetzel landed in the net.
East Hardy’s SierraMarie Miller hit the net on an attack, then Markwood found the floor twice on aces with one ball skipping off the top of the net.
Rinker pushed the ball over for a point, then a the Lady Cougars returned a serve into the net.
Miller made a save on Markwood’s serve and Jessica Smith sent it over the net, but Markwood notched a point on a push-style attack.
Vetter finished the first set point on a push-style kill giving the Lady Yellow Jackets a 25-5 win.
East Hardy fell behind 9-2 in the second set, but fought back to tie it up late in the set several times before being edged out by Moorefield 25-23.
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Rinker got the set rolling for the Lady Yellow Jackets with an ace, then the Lady Cougars knotted it up on a spike by Whetzel.
Miller served for East Hardy and Markwood returned the ball, but Fleshman made dig with it being redirected into the net.
Another ace for Moorefield was sent by Vetter and the Lady Cougars responded with an attack by Smith which was deflected out of bounds.
Smith’s next attack went out of bounds during the serve by Whetzel.
Carlson stepped to the service line and the first serve was passed around without a return, then delivered four consecutive aces for a 9-2 advantage.
Miller made a dig, then Hardy returned the ball and Perry Whetzel made a pass to Fleshman with her attack fielded by Moorefield’s Anna Riggleman and the shot by Hardy went out.
Moorefield’s lead was at 10-5 after a dig attempt by Riggleman found the net.
A serve by East Hardy’s Victoria Ames didn’t clear the top of the net.
On Markwood’s serve, Whetzel made a pass to Miller setting up Fleshman for a spike.
Yates served and Carlson returned the ball off a pass from Rinker, but the Lady Cougars answered with a kill by Miller off a set from Erin Riggle, 11-7.
There was a good series of hitting back and forth before one volley from Smith was returned out of bounds by Vetter.
Smith recorded a kill on the next play for a 12-9 score.
Smith launched an attack and Hardy made a brilliant save, but O’Neill wasn’t able to lift it over the net.
East Hardy sliced the deficit to 14-13 on an ace by Rebecca Whetzel prior to a timeout.
Some net errors on attacks by O’Neill and Markwood plus a push point by Rinker during the serves from O’Neill helped the Lady Yellow Jackets take an 18-13 lead.
Miller made a dig and Smith smashed a point, then Markwood pushed the ball and Fleshman returned it with Riggleman making a dig save before sending the ball into the net.
Smith delivered an ace, but the ensuing serve went awry for a 19-16 score.
An attack by Riggleman wasn’t returned after the initial volley was met by a dig from Fleshman.
Miller created a point on a spike and blocked a volley by Rinker as the Lady Cougars continued to rally and tied the set at 21-all on a kill by Smith.
Miller sent the ball out of bounds during the serve from Fleshman, then Rinker served into the net.
Smith had an attack returned into the net by Carlson to give East Hardy its first lead 23-22.
The next serve by Miller was swallowed by the net to lock up the set again.
Moorefield’s Madison McGregor delivered an ace and the set point serve was returned into the net by the Lady Cougars for a 25-23 win.
East Hardy started the third set with a serve by Miller landing in the net, then Rinker’s serve for the Lady Yellow Jackets wasn’t returned as Fleshman and Smith collided going for the ball.
The Lady Cougars responded with a spike by Riggle and a block by Smith was saved by Carlson, who got a spike moments later for a 3-1 Moorefield edge.
East Hardy hit the net twice off serves by Vetter, then Hardy made a dig off an attack by Riggle and Markwood sent the ball out of bounds.
A couple of errors both ways, then Markwood and Hardy notched kills for an 8-2 lead before a timeout.
After a kill by Fleshman, Ames delivered an ace for the Lady Cougars.
O’Neill made a save off an attack by Smith, then Markwood’s attack was redirected into the net.
Remi Hinkle served the ball out of bounds for the Lady Yellow Jackets, but the point was earned back on a kill by Markwood.
Markwood and Fleshman both served into the net, then Smith made a dig off an attack by Markwood and Riggle saved the ricochet sending the ball over the net with Vetter launching the ball out.
There was a violation called on a hit by Smith as the score stood at 14-7.
Rinker created a service point and the next serve was returned out by Whetzel before a timeout.
After a pair of net errors on the Lady Cougars, Smith’s attack was saved momentarily by Vetter reaching her arm up for the hit only having it bounce out, 18-10.
Markwood squeezed an attack through a double block for a point and added another on an ace.
A couple of errors on a serve and attacks made it 22-13.
McGregor made a dig and a hit by Hinkle was returned out.
Hardy finished the set with a pair of aces for a 25-13 score giving the Lady Yellow Jackets the overall match victory in straight sets.
In JV action, East Hardy edged the Lady Yellow Jackets in straight sets 26-24 and 27-25.
Moorefield visited Tygarts Valley with Notre Dame on Tuesday and returns to the Hive to host Pendleton County and Keyser in a tri-match on Thursday.
East Hardy hosted Frankfort on Tuesday and visits Philip Barbour with Ritchie County for a tri-match on Thursday.
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