GREENWOOD — They came west laden with upset dreams again.
But they left on a bus full of sad smiles and teary eyes.
The Starkville Academy girls team had ridden into Greenwood last October and shocked host Pillow Academy 1-0 in an MAIS Class 4A, Division II first-round playoff game, so the Volunteers had every hope of pulling off another big upset Tuesday when the two teams matched up once again.
This time, though, it wasn’t to be.
The Mustangs scored their first goal barely two minutes into the match and kept adding on for a decisive 7-0 win over the Vols on Tuesday in Greenwood. Starkville Academy’s season came to an end with a 12-7 record.
Volunteers coach John Morgan said he was disappointed with how his team performed Tuesday, as the Vols were thoroughly outplayed by the powerful Mustangs. The Vols rarely had possession across midfield, and when they did, it didn’t last long. Their normally stout defense was exploited often.
“We didn’t come out and execute,” Morgan said. “That was pretty clear. Usually, we’re a team that prides ourself on defense, and when you give up (seven) goals, it’s not that way.”
Morgan pointed to his team’s relative youth as a major reason for the disparity in Tuesday’s scoreline. The Vols were led by twin seniors Lauren and Kaitlyn Bock this season, and junior Mia Kate Cade plays a major role, but middle schoolers abound otherwise. Starkville Academy’s roster features 25 players, nine of whom are in eighth grade and four of whom are seventh graders. By contrast, district opponent Lamar School has just one eighth grader; Pillow has none.
But Morgan pointed out that his team’s younger players can get rare firsthand training in the pressure of a playoff atmosphere.
“We’re young, and this is great playoff experience for a lot of these young girls who normally wouldn’t get it on another team,” he said.
While the Vols skew younger, Pillow’s strength lies in its junior class, Morgan said. The Mustangs’ powerful class of 2020 includes Sarah Presley Howard, who had a hat trick Tuesday, scoring on a penalty kick in the 25th minute and adding goals in the 43rd and 58th minutes.
Howard leads a team that can make its fifth state championship game in the past six years with a win over Lamar on Thursday. The one blip, of course, was last year’s 1-0 loss to Starkville Academy, in which Vols goalkeeper Meri Laci Archer shut out the Mustangs.
Morgan said overconfidence likely cost Pillow Academy in that contest, and the home team didn’t take the Vols quite as lightly Tuesday. Instead, they added onto a 2-0 halftime lead with goal after goal. They even scored seconds before the final whistle to make the final score 7-0.
“They’re the ones who really had the pressure on them to perform,” Morgan said. “They knew we upset them last year. We knew they were gonna come for blood.”
Soon, he hopes, that dynamic will change. Morgan said just the fact that the Vols made the postseason with a roster as young as theirs was promising. With time, he said, they’ll get better and better.
“You give it a couple years, and I think this team is really going to make heads roll,” he said.
Other scores
Prep volleyball
Pontotoc 3, Caledonia 1
CALEDONIA — The Caledonia High School volleyball team lost Tuesday’s home match to Pontotoc, 3-1.
Set scores were 17-25, 25-20, 21-25 and 16-25.
Emily Clark had 21 digs for Caledonia, and Alexa Lindsey and Lily Rose Nodine each had 18. Clark added 21 assists.
Libby McMurphey had eight attacks, and Zoe Hansen had seven.
Megan Chandler had two blocks, and Kordelia Bergstrom and Hansen each had one.
Nodine, Bergstrom and Hansen all had two aces apiece.
Caledonia will play at Shannon at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
West Lowndes 3, Aberdeen 2
ABERDEEN — West Lowndes came back for a big win over Aberdeen in Tuesday’s home match.
After dropping two close sets, the Panthers came back to take all of the final three.
Set scores were 24-25, 23-25, 25-13, 25-14 and 25-10.
West Lowndes can qualify for the playoffs with a win Thursday against Hamilton in Columbus.
Heritage Academy 3, Winston Academy 0
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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