Facing off against someone else isn’t new for the Volley Hounds, who in the last half the summer played against other nearby teams in offseason scrimmages.
Now, however, the results matter in the win/loss column and more importantly, in the PSR formula that will eventually determine the state tournament qualifiers.
Jones County started itself off on the right foot last week in that respect, sweeping a pair of games against Northeast as well as Northside before claiming a pair of match wins at Saturday’s Southside Classic in Locust Grove. Those wins were against two teams that JCHS will face later on in region play — Ola and Eagles Landing.
“I think they’re more at ease with each other because they trust each other,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Leah Bodnarchuk said. “Just getting a chance to work together more since last year, that showed.”
The Lady Hounds edged Eagles Landing 27-25 and 25-18 and toppled Ola 25-21 and 25-22. JCHS also got itself an early measuring mark in its other Saturday matches, losing 25-20, 25-18 to Landmark Christian, 25-19 and 25-23 to Savannah Country Day and 25-17 and 25-22 to Madison County.
The strong overall Saturday followed Thursday’s sweep. After routing Northeast 25-2 and 25-4, Jones County won its first game against Northside 25-8 thanks to key serves down the stretch from Zakeena Sturgeon. Much like Saturday’s close wins, the second game against Northside was marked by the Volley Hounds stepping when the stakes were high. After taking an 8-2 lead only to see the Eagles trail 9-8, a Molly Register slam across the top of the net put the Lady Hounds ahead 12-8, helping to douse the Northside rally.
“It moved the energy. We always tell them we have to be talking, we have to be together,” Bodnarchuk said. “That one play was what we needed to snap things back for us.”
JCHS took things to game point on serves by Jayda Round just before Isabella Bodnarchuk’s service point ended up being the game-winner.
The schedule hardly slows down for the Lady Hounds on the volleyball court, as they’ll reach a program milestone with Saturday’s hosting of their first-ever tournament. The Middle Georgia Classic will begin with pool play at 9 a.m. Jones County will play Rutland and Jasper County in one pool with the other comprised of ACE, FPD, and Putnam County.
Bracket matches will follow at approximately noon with the championship match set for 1 p.m.
“It’s worth it to have the girls at home. More of their friends can come see them play. Some of them can’t come see them play during the week because they are playing other sports,” Bodnarchuk said. “This gives them a chance to come support us since we always try to support them.”
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