Lady Choctaws sweep Dyersburg in 13AA tilt

Dyer County's Ava Huke (10) and Teagan Reed (2) go up for a block of a return attempt by Dyersburg's Preslee Quertermous (24) during the Lady Choctaws win over the Lady Trojans on Thursday night in the Terry Glover Gymnasium.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

By JASON PEEVYHOUSE

Sports Editor

Dyer County moved to 2-0 in District 13AA play as the Lady Choctaw volleyball team got off to a strong start to take a three-set win over the Lady Trojans on the road in the Terry Glover Gymnasium on Thursday night in Dyersburg.

Dyersburg's Avery Hinson looks to set up a return during the Lady Trojans loss to Dyer County on Thursday evening.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

“I think in the first set we did a really good job of starting out strong and running our offense,” Dyer County Head Coach Shanna O'Bright said. “That kind of set the tone for the night.”

The Lady Choctaws stormed out of the gates in the opening set, jumping out to an 8-0 lead thanks to a pair of Kierstyn Ray aces and two kills from Rylee Key. Dyersburg was able to finally halt the Lady Choctaw momentum briefly before an Emma Wray kill and an Evie Rogers ace along with a kill from Teagan Reed and a block by Blair Acree helped the Dyer County girls to a 25-13 win in the first set.

The Lady Trojans came out stronger in the second set, getting three kills from Preslee Quertermous and another by Murphy Morgan to counter a Key tip and a Reed kill on the way to building a 15-8 lead. Dyer County had an answer with back-to-back Wray aces along with a Key kill to cut deep in the the Dyersburg lead. Another ace from Rogers tied the game at 16-16 before Dyer County took the lead on the next point. Dyersburg was able to answer back and keep within striking distance before the Lady Choctaws pulled away to take the second set, 25-19.

“We just need to learn how to push and not let teams go on a run,” Dyersburg Head Coach De'Licia Ahmad explained. “We get ahead and we start to kind of relax instead of pushing ahead and finishing the game.

“We just need to learn how to finish”

The Lady Choctaws were able to pull away from an early battle by the Lady Trojans to take a 16-9 lead after kills from Key and Acree. Though Dyersburg kept battling, the Lady Choctaws outscored Dyersburg 8-5 down the stretch to secure the 25-14 win in the third set to take the match.

“In the second set we kind of let off of our offense just a little bit,” O'Bright said. “Overall, I am proud of us.

“We've got to keep our serves on the court. But, other than that, I am proud of the way we ran our offense.”

O'Bright said fixing the serving issues will be something the Lady Choctaws will continue to work on.

Ahmad praised the front line for their play on Thursday and in recent games.

“Kalli (Maclin), Addie (Gatlin), and Murphy (Morgan) have done a really good job of being our go-to girls,” Ahmad explained. “We've just got to find more that will step up and play that leader role.

“Blocking was one of our struggles from last year that they wanted to work on this year. We worked on it and they've stepped up and done better.”

Ahmad added the Lady Trojans will travel to Nashville this weekend for a tournament. After that, the black and gold girls will spend Sunday and Monday getting ready for an important District 13AA match at Crockett County.

Dyer County returns to action on Tuesday when the Lady Choctaws host Obion County Central at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, Dyersburg travels to the Middle Tennessee Classic this weekend before returning to action on Tuesday when the Lady Trojans travel to Alamo to take on Crockett County at 6 p.m.