Freshman Nora Teasley serves the ball during Scotland’s game against Hoke County on Tuesday night at Scotland High School. Teasley has quickly emerged as a key contributor on the Scots’ frontline this season.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Reagan Malpass (1) talks to Molly Gallagher (left) and Addison Johnson (right) during Tuesday’s matchup with Hoke County.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Senior Addison Johnson hits the ball on Tuesday during Scotland’s win over Hoke County. They remain unbeaten at 5-0 with the win.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG —The Lady Scots volleyball team remains on fire to start the 2024 season, taking down SAC rival Hoke County on Tuesday night three sets to one in the team’s first conference matchup of the season at Scotland High School. Scotland improved to 5-0 with the win while the Bucks suffered their first loss and fall to 5-1. Hoke County is a team that Head Coach Adam Romaine knows will always provide a challenge and is glad to get their first conference game and win out of the way.
“This is always a team that gets a second or third touch on the ball and manages to get the ball over the net when you don’t think it’s possible,” Romaine said. “I don’t care what their record is, you always throw records out the window when you play them, they are a great team to play and always give us a hard time. We got that first one under our belt and that’s always a good thing.”
The first set was mostly controlled by the Scots. They would obtain that control by scoring four points in a row twice as part of an 8-1 surge that put them ahead 10-3. Even though the Bucks made an incredible comeback by tying the set at 22, the Scots’ lead was too much for Hoke County to overcome as they led by as many as eight during the set before winning it 25-22.
The ensuing set did not go well for Scotland. Despite being competitive initially (the largest lead held by either side in the early going was an 8-5 Bucks lead), it ended up being pretty one sided. Hoke County grabbed ahold of the set after the Scots got within one by going on a 7-1 run that put them ahead 15-8. The Bucks surged to the finish line from there and took the second set 25-14 to even the game at one set apiece. This set, the first one the Scots have dropped all season, is one that Romaine said the team will have to learn from as they move forward into the heart of their schedule against even tougher opponents.
“It started out a little flat and they got a little run on us which we just never rebounded from,” Romaine said. “That’s the team we can’t be going deeper into the season, we’re going to work on that and learn from it so we can get better.”
The third set saw Scotland rebound right out of the gate. After trailing 2-1, they went on a 7-2 run that forced the Bucks to call a timeout. The Scots would continue that momentum out of the break by going on another run that put them up by seven at 12-5. They would cruise to victory from there in the all-important third set 25-17. Scotland’s ability to rebound from the second set is something Romaine credited to tightening up some fundamentals such as receiving serves.
“Our cover had gotten loose and our serve receive had gotten sloppy,” Romaine said. “We just had to clean up those two things and run our system the way we know how.”
The final set saw the Scots fall behind 7-2 after allowing Hoke County to get five unanswered points. Scotland never panicked, managing to tie the set at eight on the strength of a 6-1 run. They would also get four unanswered points after trailing 10-8 to grab their first lead of the set at 12-10 and force a Bucks timeout. The Scots never fully pulled away and even temporarily trailed 20-19 but finished strong with three of the set’s final four points which was part of a 6-3 run to take the set 25-23.
Senior Addison Johnson once again paced the team in kills with 20 while Molly Gallagher contributed 14 of her own. Johnson also had six digs and three solo blocks while Gallagher had a team high nine digs. Freshman Nora Teasley really made her presence known near the net with six solo blocks and three assisted blocks. Romaine is very pleased with how she’s come along and become a big contributor to the team while always remaining hungry for more.
“She’s getting better every game, every practice and wants to learn and get better,” Romaine said. “She’s really critiquing herself because she wants to be as close to perfect as she can and she has really been a big hit for us in the middle.”
The Lady Scots will remain busy over the next few days. They will take a brief break from conference action on Wednesday night with a road matchup at St. Pauls before returning home on Thursday for a conference matchup with the Southern Lee Cavaliers. They won’t have their second matchup with Hoke County until Sept. 19.