Lady Knights improve to 11-2, sweep non-conference matches
Highlands – At long last, Robbinsville volleyball is returning home.
Rescheduled matches led to the Lady Knights (11-2, 3-1) tolling away at a 5-match road trip, which pushed the team to its very limits.
Now with a 4-set win at Cherokee (7-7, 3-2) and sweeps over Hiwassee Dam (3-7) and Highlands (5-7) in the rearview mirror, the Knights will enjoy all the comforts of their home court, as they kicked off a stretch of five consecutive home matches against Nantahala after Wednesday’s press deadline.
“We are now caught back up and on to the latter part of the season,” noted Robbinsville head coach Kadey Phillips. “It took some mental toughness to push through all the gameplay and traveling, but we came out successful.”
A much-improved Cherokee team gave Robbinsville fits early in the Sept. 22 match, even taking set one 22-25. But after the Lady Knights had to rally and tie the affair 1-1 with a 26-24 win in set two, Robbinsville was locked in and barely allowed the Lady Braves to threaten for the remainder of the contest, taking sets three and four 25-19, 25-12.
The trek to Hiwassee Dam on Sept. 23 provided little trouble for the Knights, who garnered a 25-12, 25-17, 25-20. Monday’s journey to Highlands was a tightly-knit affair, but Robbinsville prevailed 25-22, 25-20, 25-20.
“It took us a while to recover from our two weeks off, but we are now back on our winning streak and hope to come back stronger than ever, as our season comes to an end in the coming weeks,” coach Phillips added.
JV, middle school
After toppling Cherokee 25-21, 25-20, Robbinsville (6-5) dropped its junior-varsity match at Hiwassee Dam in three sets. Monday, the Lady Knights fell in another three-set battle at Highlands: 25-20, 22-25, 4-15.
In middle school action, the Lady Knights (2-4) fell 20-25, 17-25 at Cherokee and were defeated by Hiwassee Dam/Ranger the next day.