3-way split of divisional lead after wild week
Murphy – It took a pair of grueling road matches to unseat Robbinsville from the top spot in the conference standings.
The Lady Knights fell victim to a 5-set loss at Cherokee (13-6, 5-2) on Sept. 29, before traveling to Murphy (16-4, 5-2) and suffering a 4-set defeat.
Robbinsville (12-6, 5-2) had remained perfect in Smoky Mountain Conference play before the matches – but the two setbacks have now placed the Knights in a 3-way tie with the Braves and Bulldogs.
The race to the divisional crown wraps up Thursday, Oct. 13, with the conference tournament – which is being held at Swain County this year – kicking off Saturday, Oct. 15.
In other words, time is of the essence for Robbinsville.
After Tuesday’s stunner at Murphy (a 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 18-25 loss), Lady Knights head coach Kadey Phillips pointed to a lack of hustle as Robbinsville’s downfall at Cherokee – but praised the team for correcting that against the Lady Bulldogs, despite the loss.
“I just told the girls that we’re going to have to focus on us,” Phillips said. “We have to work the tweaks out that we know need to be fixed and focus on finishing strong these last two weeks.”
The Knights came out on the better end of a hotly-contested set one Tuesday. Neither team could pull away with more than a 2-3 point advantage at a time for much of the opener. Thunderous kills off the swats of Aubrie Wachacha (midway through the set) and Kensley Phillips (to pull Robbinsville ahead 20-16) helped swing the momentum, however.
Early communication breakdowns on the floor plagued both programs in set two. At the halfway point, libero Suri Watty served up back-to-back aces to give Robbinsville a 16-15 advantage and later, a huge Wachacha block opened the Knights’ lead to 19-17.
Murphy’s response was an 8-2 sprint to the win.
Delaney Brooms and Wachacha each powered a pair of spikes over the net that the Bulldogs could not answer to in the preliminary phase of set three. Murphy soon raced away with the biggest lead of the match, though and held a 13-20 nod before Robbinsville began a methodical rally bid.
The bid came up short, however.
The Bulldogs dictated the tempo in set four, as the Lady Knights could not seize any momentum from a pair of overturned calls that went in favor of Robbinsville. Service errors proved costly throughout the match – but especially in set four – and a kill by Olivia Payne tied the season series between the two perennial contenders.
But not all hope is lost. Down the stretch, Robbinsville will play the remainder of its conference slate at home: today against Andrews; Tuesday versus Hayesville (Pink Night) and Thursday, Oct. 13’s regular-season finale against Swain County.
“Our goal is to be peaking at this point in the season, so we’re going to focus on fixing our mistakes,” coach Phillips added.
The loss at Cherokee came in a seesaw affair: 25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 14-25, 12-15.
It was Robbinsville’s second 5-set match in a 3-day span.
JV, middle school
The Lady Knights dropped a pair of junior-varsity matches to Cherokee, 21-25, 20-25; and Murphy, 16-25, 23-25. Robbinsville is 5-11 in JV action this season.
Robbinsville (5-4) split its middle-school bill, dropping a 22-25, 11-25 match at Cherokee, but knocking off Murphy 25-20, 25-19.