Lady Dolphins Volleyball is the Sport to Watch!

Lady Dolphins Volleyball is the Sport to Watch!
Photo by Laurie Garrish

The next home match is September 16th! 

by guest writer Kari Styron

The girl’s varsity volleyball team began practicing for the season on August 1st, marking the beginning of their 3rd season participating in the sport.  Despite varied work schedules, the girls came as they were able and started working on the basics and getting back in the swing of things!  They quickly picked up where they left off last year and we are very impressed with the progress so far.

Their opening match was Monday August 18th against rival Hatteras and the match came down to 2 points in the 5th and final set.  Unfortunately the result was a loss, but we still have another match on our home court on September 16th so watch out!  The ladies travelled to Columbia on Tuesday the 19th, and then hosted a double header on Thursday the 21st against a much more experienced Perquimans team. While the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, there were quite a few rallies where our girls proved that they can play with and compete with anyone in the conference.  Lead by senior captains Samantha Styron, Lucy O’Neal, and Katie O’Neal, the Lady Dolphins show definite promise this year.  Finishing off the roster this year are starting setter Bricia Rivera, and hitters Josie Winstead and Sydney Austin, along with Stacey O’Neal and Brieanna Boos. 

Our recent match this past Thursday the 28th against Mattamuskeet was our first of hopefully many wins of the season.  Katie, Bricia, and Samantha all turned in strong servicing streaks that proved our point… keep the ball in the court on the serve and we can win!  Josie, Lucy, and Sydney were all strong at the net.  While the level of competition was not as high as we saw against Perquimans or Gates, the Lady Dolphins were able to run their offense and react quickly to fast returns, and took the match easily 3 - 0.   

This year the Lady Dolphins are running a 5-1 offense, which means that Bricia, as the only designated setter, is supposed to take the second hit on every play.  She gets a lot of action and this position she runs the offense and is the equivalent to the quarterback of the team.  She is stepping up nicely into the position. The other 5 players on the court are designated as hitters as they rotate across the front row.  All 5 of our starters are contributing offensively.  Lucy and Sydney have already proven to be a force to be reckoned with at the net especially with their blocking, but have also turned in strong performances as hitters.  Josie and Katie are consistent scorers offensively and play strong defense and  Samantha, while only 5’4”, scores consistently at the net despite her size by playing smart and putting the ball right where the opponents aren’t.  Our defense is getting a hand on just about every ball sent over to us, and our serve receive has improved to the point that we can put the ball close to the setter and work our offense consistently.  Our serves are also much stronger this year, and the focus has been on a strong but consistent attack.  All of the teams that we play against can receive serve, so aces, while nice, are not the focus.  Instead we want to emphasize a consistent, strong, accurate serve designed to make the opponent have to work to set up their offense.  Our goals are no easy lobs over the net, and nothing in the net or out of bounds.   A missed serve is a free point to the opponent. 

A match consists of winning 3 out of 5 sets - similar to tennis.  The first 4 sets go to 25 points and if the match goes to the 5th set, it is a 15 point set.  A point is scored on every side out and the winning team must win each set by 2 points. 

They'll also play at home on September 16th and 18th, and October 7th and 9th. All matches start at 4pm so please come out to support the Lady Dolphins and watch some fast volleyball! 

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