Lady Knights on 14-set tear
A sleeping giant has been inadvertently awoken.
Down 2-0 in an Aug. 22 road match at Asheville, the Lady Knights made some adjustments between sets two and three – simply hoping to keep the contest alive.
But something else clicked: not only did Robbinsville pull off the almost-impossible 3-set rally to stun the Cougars, but the Lady Knights went on to saw through four different programs at a tournament in Forest City on Saturday.
The Smoky Mountain Conference opener Tuesday night did little to derail the momentum, as Robbinsville swept the visiting Murphy Lady Bulldogs to extend their winning streak to 14 consecutive sets, stretched across five days and six different opponents.
Head coach Kadey Phillips told The Graham Star after Tuesday’s 13-25, 12-25, 17-25 dismantling of the Bulldogs that everything the Knights have been working to improve on is coming together at the right time.
Whoever stands on the other side of the net from Robbinsville in the near future, beware.
“I saw specifically today that everything we’ve been working on in practice came alive,” Phillips said. “We did back blocking and back-row tracking in practice yesterday; Claire blocked a back-row track today. We’ve also been focusing on serves and we had a lot of aces today. It’s nice to see all the things we’ve been working on happen in the game.”
Phillips touted Asheville (4-2) as a block-heavy team, noting the 4A Cougars presented a triple-block option on the front row.
Now at 127 wins for her career since taking over Robbinsville’s program in 2017, Phillips said a 3-person block normally plays to the Knights’ advantage – but Asheville had answers for everything Robbinsville tried to produce in response.
“Triple-blocks will open up spots on the floor, but they had everything covered,” Phillips explained. “We were thrown for a loop for a little bit, but adjusted after picking up on what their defense was doing.
“The girls just brought it; they were ready.”
Admittedly, Phillips was concerned with the quick turnaround for Saturday’s tournament. The Lady Knights returned home on a high after downing Asheville, but had to hit the road again the following day for the trek to suburban Charlotte.
Competing in a 2-out-of-3 varsity format, the hosting Chase High School Lady Trojans were the first recipients of Robbinsville’s wrath: 25-23, 25-21. Asheville showed it had not learned its lesson, as the Cougars fell 25-12, 25-21.
In a groove, nearby Bessemer City fell victim in a 25-7, 25-7 slaying; while R-S Central showed some fight before dropping a 25-19, 25-20 to the Knights.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect out of the girls, but we ended up not having any problems,” Phillips added.
Four straight road matches are lined up directly in front of Robbinsville, with visits to Andrews (tonight), Hayesville (Tuesday), Highlands (Monday, Sept. 9) and Blue Ridge (Tuesday, Sept. 10) keeping the Lady Knights away from home until returning to host Hiwassee Dam on Thursday, Sept. 12.
“It will all be very competitive,” said Phillips. “I told the girls to be ready for anything and not underestimate anybody.”
JV, middle school
The next group of varsity stars have kept busy during the last week, as well.
In JV action, Robbinsville (2-3) split its schedule by defeating Asheville but falling to Murphy on Tuesday 25-14, 26-24.
Set scores from the win over the Lady Cougars were not received by Wednesday’s press deadline.
The Robbinsville Middle School Lady Knights launched their season Tuesday by knocking off the Lady Bulldogs 12-25, 15-25.