By Sam Findley
For the Daily Journal
Host Edinburgh was up for a challenge facing favored Waldron in the first round of the Class A volleyball sectional. A strong performance from Waldron’s front line sealed the Lancers’ fate in a 25-12, 25-20, 25-16 loss.
“We made a lot of mistakes and missed a lot of serves,” Edinburgh coach Bri Howard said. “We just didn’t do the little things. We just were not in control of the game and we should have been.”
Edinburgh (9-20) grabbed the first two points of the first set but was quickly overwhelmed with an 8-0 run by the Mohawks (19-10). The Lancers were able to put up a late set run of 8-4 that kept them in it but was not enough, as Waldron pulled away with eight more unanswered points.
The second set proved to be a more competitive one with the teams battling to a 14-14 draw. Waldron then went on a three-point run, which was enough for Howard to call a timeout. The Mohawks held onto that slim lead despite a pair of kills from Lancer Gracie Crawhorn.
Waldron wasn’t able to completely pull away in the third and final set until late, when it closed with seven unanswered points.
First-year coach Howard, a 2017 Edinburgh grad, has seen improvements with the team, which improved from 7-23 last year.
“Everything has changed; they have grown so much,” she said. “This is a completely different team and I think we surprised a lot of people this year. Just them going and playing club and keep getting touches, I think that will help. They are a good team they have a lot of potential.”
The Lancers lose just two seniors, libero Alyssa Funkhouser and outside hitter Carly Cowan, and Howard has hope for the returning players, specifically sophomores Zoey Sida and Jessica Walsh.
The rookie head coach added that she will look to improve the team’s mental state during games, especially from a confidence standpoint.
“Teaching them how to stay engaged in the play the whole time,” Howard said. “I think we lose focus easily. Trying to keep them in the game the whole time, not freaking out when they make mistakes, and just encouraging them. They need to learn they have potential, they need to know they can do this, they can compete with teams, and that they are a lot better than they were. Confidence-wise, that’s what we’re going to work on, because they can beat those teams.”
