STARKVILLE — The Starkville High School volleyball team made its new home feel like its old home Monday night.
Playing for the first time at the Starkville SportsPlex, Starkville put an exclamation point on its 2011 home opener, rolling past Heritage Academy 25-21, 25-12, 25-10 on Monday night.
The match was the first for the Heritage Academy volleyball program.
“I am pleasantly surprised at how the girls played,” Heritage Academy coach Liz Fields said. “We really weren”t sure what to expect. This was really our first scrimmage or any type of action against another team. I am really happy at how we played. After we play on Columbus Tuesday, we know what we need to work on when we get back to the gym on Wednesday.”
The Patriots battled in a spirited first set. The lead changed hands four times and the Yellow Jackets never held greater than a six-point advantage. In the second set, the Patriots scored the first four points but couldn”t hold the momentum, as an 18-6 run by the hosts allowed them to seize control.
“We came out a little timid and hesitant,” Starkville coach Lauren Love said. “However, we were able to keep our focus. We had a number of new factors tonight – first home match, first match at the SportsPlex. For those reasons, everybody was a little extra excited. Hopefully, we can carry the way we ended the match into the rest of our play this week.”
The Jackets bolstered a 1-2 punch of freshman Khristian Carr and eighth-grader April Reese that dominated in the middle. From the service line, a strong performance by senior Wheeler Richardson anchored the backcourt.
“Our ball movement and mechanics got better during the match,” Love said. “We did not have a good service showing against Aberdeen (in a five-set win Thursday). That really has been a point of contention in our practices because it is an area where we have to get better. Tonight, we really limited our service errors. A good serve is really the key to good offense.”
The teams had a tight tussle in the opening set. A kill by Heritage Academy”s Anna Kilarski gave the guests their first sign of life and tied the set 5-5. Starkville then grabbed an 8-5 lead before a kill by Kilarski and assist from Kristen Phillips capped a rally at the net to give the Patriots a 10-9 advantage.
Starkville scored six consecutive points to snap a 13-all tie. The flurry included five service points and two aces from Richardson.
In the second set, Heritage Academy scored the first four points behind the strong service game of Elizabeth Scott, a senior transfer from Starkville High. Starkville answered with a 7-3 run for a 7-7 tie. The spurt ignited the game-changing 18-6 spree by the hosts. Carr had eight straight service points as the Yellow Jackets (3-3) bolted to an 18-10 advantage.
In the final set, the Yellow Jackets built an 8-2 lead and withstood a couple of mini-runs to ease to the victory.
“The girls really did great for our first match,” Heritage Academy coach Liz Byrne said. “Really many of our players are brand new to the sport, so this was their first live match. We have to work on the little things, like how to substitute correctly. It is a work in progress. Overall, it was a fantastic effort. This is a scrappy, hungry team that is eager to learn. In time, they will be a force to be reckoned with.”
Carr and Reese led Starkville with six kills apiece. Richardson and Michaela Mills each had four kills. Carr had four service aces, while Richardson had a team-high 14 assists and Grace Drumheller had a team-high nine digs.
“We have a tendency to stand around on offense too much,” Love said. “Tonight, I saw more energy and more focus. That led to some better ball movement and better offensive attacking. We have to learn how to do these things more consistently throughout a match. If we do that, we can be successful.”
In Monday”s opener, the Starkville junior varsity improved to 1-1 with a 25-12, 25-10 victory.
Both teams hit the road for their next competition. Heritage Academy will play tonight at Columbus, while Starkville will play Thursday at Corinth on Thursday. Each team will play a junior varsity-varsity doubleheader that begins at 5:30 p.m.
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 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.