VEEDERSBURG — Southmont volleyball had dropped their last three games and came into Thursday’s game against Fountain Central looking to snap that streak. The Mounties did just that as they were able to come away with a 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-13, 25-15) of the Mustangs to get back on the winning path.
Granted those last three defeats for the Mounties came against the likes of Cascade (four sets), and 3A and SAC powerhouses in Western Boone and Tri-West. Mountie coach Erin Barry noted how that experience for her team paid off in the victory over the Mustangs.
“It felt good to just come in here and play good volleyball and get back in the win column,” she said. “We talked about being competitive against teams like that and trying to play our game. When you play good teams like we did in that stretch, they expose some of your weaknesses. We worked on getting better in some of those areas and I think they really showed improvement in some of those areas.”
The win for the Mounties improves their record to 6-7 on the season. This year Southmont has already shown drastic improvement from a season ago. Coming into the season Barry and the team wanted to show that last season wasn’t what they’re capable of.
“I really have to credit our seniors for their leadership in that area,” Barry said of the 2022 rendition of her team. “They’ve been everything you want your seniors to be so far and hold everyone accountable. They took it upon themselves to really make this season what its been so far.”
In the victory the kills were spread evenly among the Mounties as Dara Watson led Mounties with seven while Chelsea Veatch tallied six and both Mallory Mason and Regan Remley notched five. Mason also tallied 24 assists. Taylor Anderson had nine digs on the defensive side for South while Watson added eight and Veatch 7. Anderson and Watson both added four serving aces as well.
For the Mustangs and coach Alyssa Larson, she’s focused on taking the little wins for her team and making slow and steady progress with FC who features just a single junior on their young 2022 squad. FC didn’t let the Mounties just dominate the third and final set, the young Mustangs showed grit and determination and were diving all over the floor which is something that Larson loved to see.
“We’ve talked about with them a few times about how usually our mentality changes in the third set to where we get to the point to where our desire drops a little bit,” she said. “I thought we played that final set fantastic. I thought we played very scrappy and (Bryleigh) McTaggert did a phenomenal job at the net. We’re beginning to really learn who is next to us out on the court and bonding more as a team.”
Rylee Simko led FC with 12 digs in the loss. Hannah Prickett was all over the stat sheet recording three kills, three digs, four assists and two blocks. Brailey Hoagland, who had already run a cross country meet at North Montgomery before the match, contributed four digs, three kills and one block. Josie Harshbarger had eight digs on defense and added an ace while McTaggert rounded out the stat sheet with three kills, two blocks and an assist.
The win for the Mounties was a little extra special for Anderson who celebrated her 18th birthday as she was serenaded by her teammates after the victory.
“It was fun and exciting for her I know,” Barry said. “The girls were playing for her for sure.”
The Mounties will take the weekend off before returning home on Monday to play a potential sectional opponent in Cloverdale. That will begin a three-game week for South as they travel to Lebanon on Wednesday and host Attica on Thursday.
FC will be back in action this weekend on Saturday when they travel to Rossville to compete in the Hornet Invite.
