Franklin County's Makayla O'Neal prepares to serve the ball during a match Monday against Riverside Christian Academy. The Rebelettes would go on to lose the match in straight sets.
Franklin County's Makayla O'Neal prepares to serve the ball during a match Monday against Riverside Christian Academy. The Rebelettes would go on to lose the match in straight sets.
The Franklin County Rebelettes opened up their season on Monday with a loss to the Riverside Christian Academy Lady Knight in straight sets at home.
The Rebelettes came close to winning two of the sets, but the Lady Knights were able to stay a step ahead to secure a sweep of the match.
Franklin County head volleyball coach Alveda Gaines said that the Lady Knights are a talented team, and her players did well in giving them a tough match.
“I thought we played pretty well. (Riverside) is an experienced team,” Gaines said. “This is the closest we’ve ever played them.”
The Rebelettes claimed four of the first six points of the opening set to take an early lead, but the Lady Knights began to pull away in the middle of the set.
The Rebelettes scored five straight points while facing match point to tie the first set at 24-24. However, the Lady Knights scored two quick points after that to take the first set by a margin of 26-24.
The second set was completely controlled by the Lady Knights as the Rebelettes were not able to go on any scoring runs.
The Rebelettes lost the second set by a score of 25-9.
The Rebelettes played hard in the third set to keep the score close as they took the lead multiple times midway through the series and again scored five straight points while facing match point to tie the set at 24-24.
The teams would trade points a few more times before the Lady Knights clinched the set and the match by a score of 27-25.
Gaines said she was encouraged by the ability to rally back that her players displayed in the first and third set.
“I liked our fight. We had fight in the first set and we had fight in the third set,” Gaines said. “In the second set, we kind of lost focus and I just told them that we need to have focus for all three sets.”
With the loss, the Rebelettes opened their season with a record of 0-1.
They will next play Tuesday at Fayetteville City High School. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
