Panthers dream of a repeat loop volleyball title dashed by Fairfield

By SALLY Y. HAYES

Mt. Pleasant News

?Fairfield never let up, they worked so hard. The team that makes the most effort and fewest errors is the team that?s going to pull it off. They worked hard to earn it,? said Panthers? head coach Luci Wulfekuhle following Mt. Pleasant?s Tuesday night conference loss.

The Panthers dropped to 4-2 in the conference and 10-12 overall, while Fairfield remains undefeated in conference play, 7-0 and rose to 19-3 overall.

Mt. Pleasant was swept by Fairfield in three sets: 17-25, 20-25 and 17-25.

The first point of the night came from Panther sophomore Taryne Shull. The Panthers quickly pounced to a 7-1 lead in the first set but relinquished the lead. Throughout the first set the score was tied, but after the scoreboard read 15 all the Panthers were unable to keep pace with the Trojans and lost 25-17.

The second set began with Mt. Pleasant senior Natalie Booton serving; again the Panthers scored the first point.

The second set looked promising for the Panthers as they led 18-15, nearing the end of the game. The two teams tied up at 20 all, but big hits from Fairfield?s front row gave the Trojan?s the win.

The third set, similar to the first two, was a volley of scores as the two teams battled for narrow leads throughout the game. The final tied score was at 16 all but the Panthers would only score one more point in the set, falling 17-25 to the undefeated Trojans.

Fairfield?s head coach Nancy Diers expected the close matches, ?We knew we were going to come to their (Mt. Pleasant?s) home court and they have great fan support, they play hard and we knew it was going to be a tough match.?

?I?m overall pleased that we didn?t give up. We fought here and there. It just felt like we?d get into huge leads, have a nice up. We?d have an error and shut down. We just didn?t come back fast enough and dug ourselves too many holes to climb out of,? stated Wulfekuhle.

After the loss, Wulfekuhle plans to work on the basics in the next few practices.

She said, ?The same stuff that?s been hurting us all season is what we?re going to continue to work on ? our serve receive, utilizing a good pass, stop running our setters and trying to make fewer serving errors. It?s the basics.?

Senior Taylor Shull and freshman Kelsi Phipps led the team with seven kills each, while junior Linzie Hood had six. Booton tallied 15 assists on the night and served 8-9, with one ace.

Three aces for Mt. Pleasant came from three different players, Booton, Taryne Shull and senior Barbara Brau.

On defense, senior Allison Maxwell led the team with 26 digs.

The Panthers? next competition is Saturday, Oct. 8 at the Mt. Pleasant Tournament.