NEW HOPE — There’s always something extra in the air when New Hope and Caledonia volleyball play each other, but Thursday night might have presented the wildest atmosphere of them all.
The two local rivals, complete with hundreds of fans and students from each school, descended upon the NHHS Gym with bragging rights on the line.
The Cavaliers, the reigning Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A state champions, brought the hardware, but the Trojans had the upper hand in this matchup.
Caledonia got off to a hot start, dominating in a set one win, but powered by the fans and a large student section, New Hope settled in and took control, winning in four sets, 17-25, 25-20, 25-14, 26-24.
“Our student section is one of the best,” senior Annie Woolbright said. “They’re always here supporting us, win or lose, whether we’re down or up. They just keep our momentum going all the time.”
It was a much-needed win to help the Trojans (7-6) get back over the .500 mark for the season. Communication has been an issue for New Hope in the early going, as they absorbed the losses of a number of key players, including Madyson McBrayer and Kensley Woolbright, and it showed early on in Thursday’s match.
However, those early-match mistakes got corrected and the Trojans started rolling.
“All season, we’ve struggled in the first set,” New Hope head coach Allison Woolbright said. “…Filling those roles from our seniors last year has been difficult, so we’re still kind of tweaking it…This is always a big match. We play hard with them.”
This match had the potential to go to a fifth set tiebreak as Caledonia (6-3-1) reached set point, up 24-23 in the fourth.
Some miscommunication between the scorer’s table and teams when it came to service rotation caused a long pause in play, and once play resumed, New Hope rattled off three points to take the match.
Other problems plagued the Cavaliers through the final three sets of play.
“We made more errors than them,” Caledonia head coach Samantha Brooks said. “They picked up their offense in the second, third and fourth sets and we just made unforced errors.”
Despite that, Brooks commended the team on what she thought was their best performance of the season, even in a losing effort.
Caledonia still has plenty of room to grow and promising players abound up and down the roster.
On Thursday night, however, it was the Trojans, who have now taken three in row from Caledonia, who shone brightest.
“We have 11 girls on our roster and it seems like on a different night, someone else is on and that’s just who we’re turning to,” Woolbright said. “I don’t know if we’re going to have the Madysons or the Amaris or the Hayslies this year, but we’re just going to have to trust each other and build from that.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion