Knights sit atop division standings
Robbinsville – It’s ok if you feel like you have seen this ending before.
Ostensibly, you have.
Sure, some of the players have changed. There’s a new setter for Robbinsville – senior Desta Trammell – and Murphy’s frontline defense has a different look for the 2022 season.
But the final bit of offense was still produced by the same Lady Knight: Delaney Brooms.
A sophomore during the Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament finals last October, Brooms clinched the finals victory for Robbinsville with a fourth-set kill so powerful that the floorboards on the Knights’ home court barely withstood the impact.
Fast forward to Sept. 1. Robbinsville led Murphy 26-27 in the fourth set. The Knights led the match 2-1. Murphy’s Julia Dockery bumped the ball across the net amidst a hectic volley – diving to the floor in the process to keep the set alive for the Bulldogs.
Middle hitter Aubrie Wachacha passed the ball to her right, where Trammell patiently offered a pristine set for Brooms, who broke out into a huge smile.
Spoiler alert: the ending was the same, as Robbinsville knocked off Murphy 22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 26-28.
“I knew exactly what was going to happen,” Brooms admitted, after the win. “Going forward, we’re still going to have to work hard, but we’ve definitely came on strong since the start of the season.”
The outcome was rarely set in stone, however. Both sides made life difficult throughout the match, with rare advantages often being swiftly erased. Robbinsville’s sprint to an 11-19 lead in set two – spearheaded by strong offense from outside hitters Brooms and Kensley Phillips, as well as sophomore Claire Barlow’s middle defense (six blocks across the match) was later one-upped by Murphy (6-3, 1-2) opening up a 14-3 nod in set three.
Robbinsville’s lone lapse of focus in the match proved costly. Even though the Knights later trimmed the deficit to 20-15, serves from Dockery and Madison Parker supplied troublesome volleys throughout the third set for the home team.
“I think we just got a little too ahead of ourselves,” said Phillips, who finished the showdown with the team lead in both kills and digs – 23 each. “We really expected Murphy to be tough and compete – which they were and they did.
“After tonight, though, we’re feeling a lot better. This gives us a lot of hope, moving forward.”
Robbinsville (6-2, 3-0) has had to wade through murky waters to begin the season. Cohesiveness took a long time to click. Numbers are down – at best, the Lady Knights have had just 1-2 reserves on the bench to provide a breather for the starters.
You also would not be mistaken if the odds Robbinsville has faced seem akin to something that has played out before.
The Biblical analogy is just too obvious to ignore.
“We had a devotion Wednesday – ‘Be Like a David,’” Phillips explained. “Kadey (Phillips, head coach) was telling us that David never gave up and it goes perfect with our match today. We called a timeout when it got close and Kadey reminded us again, ‘Be a David.’”
Break out the brooms
Andrews – After playing 5-of-7 at home to kickstart the campaign – including a recent slate of four straight – Robbinsville played its first road match since Aug. 18 on Tuesday, making the short trip to Andrews (1-5, 0-3) and handing the Lady Wildcats a 25-3, 25-19, 25-6 sweep.
Robbinsville cast out any aspersions of how the match was going to evolve out the window early, with senior setter Desta Trammell serving up nine straight Lady Knights points out of the starting block. A struggling Andrews’ defense finally caught a break, but Robbinsville thundered back with another quick 11-0 run – off Phillips’ serves – to widen the margin to 19-1. The Wildcats showed much more fire in set two – even temporarily snatching the advantage early – but Robbinsville remained stubborn on its side of the net, quickly thundering back to regain control. The Knights then ran away with set three in much of the same manner as the opening stanza, building a 7-0 lead right out of the gate and never looking back.
JV, middle school
The Lady Knights split the bill in Sept. 1’s openers against Murphy.
Robbinsville (2-2) secured its first middle-school triumph of the season, taking the Bulldogs down in straight sets: 11-25, 14-25. The junior-varsity Knights then dropped a 25-16, 25-10 match to Murphy.
Tuesday at Andrews, Robbinsville (3-4) picked up a 25-16, 21-25, 15-12 JV win over the Lady Wildcats, while the middle school program prevailed in three sets as well: 20-25, 25-17, 15-11.