Crawfordsville volleyball is a young team and with that unfortunately comes some growing pains. The Athenians battled in their season opener Monday at Sheridan but fell in four sets and on Thursday CHS welcome the Greencastle Tiger Cubs for their home opener. Cville competed well in the first set but fell 25-19 and from then on the Tiger Cubs took control and spoiled the home opener with a sweep of the Athenians 25-19, 25-11, 25-12.
The Athenians (0-2) are a team that is currently playing many freshman and sophomores along with a rotation of some of their upperclassmen. Trying to find the right mix of what works and what doesn’t is what first-year coach Allison Manwell is currently trying to sort through.
“I think these girls are adjusting well to what we want to do, but you can still see that they’re nervous out there,” Manwell said. “I told them during one of our huddles that the team I’m seeing in practice isn’t quite the same team that I’m seeing out on the court in our first two games. When you have so many new players who are still getting accustomed to playing varsity, it’s going to take some time. The main thing is these girls need to relax and stay disciplined while they’re out there.”
Sophomore Ally Strickland had five kills on the night for the Athenians to go along with 11 assists. Freshman Reese Price added five kills of her own. Senior Kaydence Brost recorded a pair of kills for the Athenians with sophomore Alayna Hall adding five digs. Freshman Claire Peacock added 10 assists.
Manwell attributes some of the struggles as well to her team not being consistent enough from set to set and even from point to point.
“A big struggle is getting all of our parts clicking at the same time,” she said. “We might have a great pass followed by a hitting error or something of that nature. It seems like one half of the team is executing when they other half isn’t. Consistency is going to be a big thing moving forward. I think our setter hitter chemistry is a big part of it right now. When you have two new varsity setters who are both underclassmen. Throw that in with a lot of new varsity hitters and it’s going to take some time for us to really gel.”
The Athenians will play in the North Putnam Invite on Saturday alongside both Southmont and North Montgomery. They’re guaranteed three games.
