The McComb Tigers volleyball team accomplished something in its second-round game in the state playoffs; it just wasn’t advancing to the state semifinals this weekend.
For the first time under coach Sue Ellen Codding, the Tigers took a game from the Our Lady Academy Crescents.
After winning the first game, the Tigers weren’t able to adjust to the changes the Crescents made and ended up falling 22-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-13.
The Tigers did everything it took to win the first game. When the Crescents hit to the middle McComb dug it out and transitioned right into its offense.
“The girls hustled their butts off the first game, and we were strong in the defensive area and strong in the offensive area,” Codding said.
The Tigers produced from anywhere, with Prisca Duhe hitting two kills and assisting on another.
Koetta Watson scored three straight points for the Tigers in the middle of the game to stymie a 4-0 run by Our Lady Academy.
Ashley Standberry added another kill, and Gabby Krieger earned four kills, three of which came on blocks.
McComb went ahead late with sound defense and mistakes from the Crescents. With the score tied at 18 the Tiger defense didn’t let anything drop, while Our Lady Academy hit out of bounds twice, into the net once and was called for two carries.
That stretch made it 23-19 for McComb, and after a kill that Krieger placed in exactly the right spot, the Tigers dug out a block from the Crescents and Duhe drove home the next hit to win the game 25-22.
Entering the second game, Our Lady Academy went with adjustments to what McComb had done in the first game. Instead of hitting hard to the middle on most every set, the Crescents tipped the ball more often and mixed up their shot selection.
It worked well enough that the Tigers weren’t able to adjust and stay close for the chance at a win.
McComb went down 19-12 midway through the second game, but climbed back to 24-21 with the help of two Krieger kills and another from Watson. Ashley Standberry made it 24-21 with her third kill of the game, but McComb couldn’t hold off the Crescents long enough to tie the game at 24.
By the third game, Our Lady Academy had honed its attack and got the points it wanted off the Tigers. An 11-2 run in the middle of the third game and a 10-0 run in the middle of the fourth put McComb in a large hole.
“We struggled offensively and that moved to the defense,” Codding said. “The last two games we were playing catch up and we weren’t the same force from the first game.”
The struggles for McComb and the successes for the Crescents was a simple matter of experience, Codding said. Our Lady Academy was “well-seasoned” and able to make adjustments, while the Tigers didn’t adjust enough to adapt to the second and third looks the Crescents were giving.
“In the third and fourth games our offense was there,” Codding said.
Duhe finished the night with five kills and three assists, Watson added seven kills. Krieger led the team with 10 kills and added three assists.
Even with the loss the Tigers finished the year at 26-9 after losing four starters from last year.
