<p>Greenwood’s volleyball team stumbled out of the starting blocks in its season opener on Saturday, losing in straight sets at Mt. Vernon.</p>
<p>On Monday evening, the Woodmen looked much more like a unit, putting together some extended scoring runs and rolling to a 25-14, 25-11, 25-20 sweep at Greenwood Christian.</p>
<p>“I think we definitely came together more cohesively as a group tonight,” Greenwood senior Megan Johns said. “On Saturday, we struggled with that a little bit and just not having the whole group playing together.”</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>The Cougars (0-1) hung with their crosstown rival early, clawing out of an early three-point hole to tie the opening set at 8-8. It remained close until the Woodmen (1-1) scored nine of the final 10 points to take control. A Joy Maze block and an Anna Cruser ace closed the game out.</p>
<p>The second set went in similar fashion. GCA stayed within range until midway through, when a long run of 10 straight points on the serve of Siena Halfaker stretched Greenwood’s lead out to 22-10. Another ace slammed the door shut, this one from Ashlee Walton.</p>
<p>“When we played this summer that’s how we were too,” Greenwood coach Amanda Ratliff said of her team’s hot streaks. “I think I just have to get used to it.”</p>
<p>Greenwood Christian kept the suspense up a bit longer in the third, getting as close as 20-18 down the stretch and staving off a pair of match points before the Woodmen finished it off on a block by Maze.</p>
<p>According to GCA coach Tasha Vessely, many of her team’s problems on Monday were self-inflicted.</p>
<p>“One of the things that hurt us in the first set was our serving,” she said. “We were really inconsistent hitting a lot out, so we couldn’t even allow them to play a ball and we’re giving it right back to them.”</p>
<p>The Cougars will try to rebound when they travel to Tindley tonight.</p>
<p>The Woodmen, meanwhile, don’t have much time to savor their first win of the season — they’re back in action tonight at reigning Mid-State Conference champion Franklin.</p>
<p>The Grizzly Cubs have been a tough matchup for Greenwood in recent years, but the Woodmen seem to have a more positive outlook heading into that showdown this time.</p>
<p>“We’ve been working a lot on the setting and the hitting connecting in practice, and I think that’s starting to pay off,” Johns said. “We definitely are all believing that we have a chance, and I think we’re going to go in there with more confidence than previous years.”</p>
