The lights were brighter in the renovated JCHS Gymnasium last Thursday. The crowd was larger than years past with fans likely enjoying the facility’s upgraded air conditioning. The stands even included a volleyball version of the JCHS Barking Lot to cheer on the Volley Hounds in a tri-match against FPD and Ace Charter.
By the time that things wound up, the Lady Greyhounds came away with a win, getting a split on the back end with 25-21 and 25-23 against FPD after dropping two contests to Ace, 25-21 and 26-24.
“It feels good for them to get a win,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Leah Bodnarchuk said. “They’ve been working so hard all summer; they deserved it.”
Jones County came up short of a sweep, seeing late rallies against the Gryphons come up short. Those setbacks had the Lady Hounds looking for ways to bounce back right away, something that they did against FPD.
“The win was good, but it’s also tough to lose. I feel like in the first game, we didn’t play to our potential,” Bodnarchuk said. “The girls and I talked about that, and they agreed on that and did better in the second game, so the second game, that was good.”
One of the bigger takeaways for the Volley Hounds came from the unintended consequence of the larger crowd support, especially the JCHS students perched along the railing overlooking the Lady Greyhounds side of the court.
“It meant the world, but it was something that they were not used to. One thing that we talked about is just blocking that out and playing your game,” Bodnarchuk said. “I think they were excited with a bigger crowd, and it kind of played into their nerves. But once they calmed down, it was better.”
Jones County faces FPD on the road next week in a tri-match that will also include Crawford County before hosting Tattnall Square Aug. 21.
