Thursday’s rain showers kept the softball teams of Starkville Academy, Oak Hill Academy and Heritage Academy from getting in games on the diamond, but on the volleyball court, West Lowndes began region play with a victory while Starkville, Caledonia and Starkville Academy each dropped games.
The Panthers opened a span of incoming Region 3-1A games with a clean 3-0 at Okolona Thursday for its second win in a row.
West Lowndes took the first set 25-18, the second set 25-16 and implemented a rally to come back from an 11-3 deficit in the third set to capture a narrow 25-22 victory.
“The first set was a breeze for the girls, but we tend to get excited after winning the first set, and we’ve been working on trying not to get excited during the game – have the excitement at the end, but at the same time uplifting each other during the game,” head coach Ashley Clark said. “Sometimes we have to learn how to reset, and that’s what we’re working on now, how to reset our mindset, not just how we play, but our mindset on the game.
“There was a point where Okolona was beating us by eight points and the girls were able to reset after a timeout. We were able to talk about it and reset and turn the dial, like you turn the dial on the radio. They turned the dial and they didn’t let that (lead) affect them.”
The recent wins have the Panthers feeling confident going into the district games.
“We’re feeling a little excited, but at the same time, we’re trying to not be too excited because we have a long road ahead of us,” Clark said. “We started district (Thursday) and the next six or seven games will be district. So, we’re trying to prepare ourselves for not just placing in the playoffs, but placing higher.
The Panthers (3-6, 1-0) begin a streak of four straight region games on Tuesday by hosting Tupelo Christian Prep.
Starkville’s losing streak in Region 2-7A games grew to four Thursday in a tightly contested 3-2 defeat by visiting Clinton
The Arrows opened the match with a strong 25-16 first-set win, but the Yellow Jackets responded by winning the next two sets 25-20 and 25-21. Clinton forced a fifth set by stealing the fourth set 25-21 and held on for a 15-13 match-deciding win in the last set.
“We haven’t been successful in the past few games, so there’s probably a couple of factors in not having a lot of success going into the game, and additionally knowing that there’s a lot riding on the game is probably what led to the (loss) in the first set,” Starkville head coach Meghan Mullane said. “But once we kind of settled in and got into a groove, we started to find connections and build confidence off of big hits. I felt like everything clicked in the second and third set. They probably played the best set I’ve ever seen them play together.
“I would say the more we’re able to start finding hitters and spreading out our sets the better we’re going to be. Communication can obviously always improve, but I think the biggest thing is being resilient in the end. Digging deep and being mentally tough; not thinking, ‘What if something bad happens here?’ (We’re) trying to change that mindset into, ‘What if we’re successful? What if we finish this?’”
Starkville (5-11-1, 0-4) is back on the court at 6 p.m.Tuesday at region foe Murrah.
Starkville Academy suffered another loss on Thursday, a 3-0 defeat at the hands of visiting Hamilton.
The Lions took the first set 25-10, the second set 25-19 and the third set 25-11.
SA is back in action at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Region 2-4A foe Lamar School.
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