Volley Hounds net season sweep of Mary Persons

GREYHOUND VOLLEYBALL

  • Kamryn Hardwick spikes an opposing shot to the other side of the net against Mary Persons. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
    Kamryn Hardwick spikes an opposing shot to the other side of the net against Mary Persons. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
  • Lyndsie Hanner serves the ball up and over the net against the Bulldogs. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
    Lyndsie Hanner serves the ball up and over the net against the Bulldogs. BRAD HARRISON/Staff

    FORSYTH - This time of year brings a mixture of focal points for the Lady Greyhounds on the volleyball court. On one hand, there is a zeroing in on looking for more ways to streamline and improve in the latter stages of the season.

    That’s because after next Monday’s senior night game against Howard, the region tournament is next, two days of games that will determine who receives a trip to the state tournament. That’s something that Jones County has never done.

    JCHS, which hosted region frontrunners Locust Grove and Union Grove this past Tuesday, hopes that the ability to fight back last week against Mary Persons will pay dividends in the season’s most important time.

    Playing a team that until this year Jones County had never defeated, a 2-1 win gave the Lady Greyhounds a season sweep of the Bulldogs. It came after a 2-0 sweep of Northside earlier in the night by scores of 26-24 and 25-13.

    “We’ve been working really hard on coverage and getting to the ball quicker,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Kim Hanner said. “They got themselves together and bounced back.”

    Ahead in the first set against Mary Persons, Pressley Vinson served Jones County to an extension of its lead, ahead 16-9 before Arleigh Henderson extended the Lady Hounds advantage. Kamryn Hardwick’s serve to the opposite side of the court took the score to game point, and a service error by the Bulldogs gave JCHS a 25-19 win.

    “We’re definitely making progress” Hanner said. “Our middles have been playing really well.”

    Mary Persons bounced back, getting an early 4-0 lead. Jones County rallied back multiple times before the Bulldogs won 25-16 to force the third and decisive set between the two teams.

    Henderson got things swung further to JCHS again, her service round moving the Volley Hounds to an 8-5 lead before Hardwick staked JCHS to being ahead 12-6, leading to a 15-10 victory to win the match.

    “They’ve had a good season no matter what. The seniors have gotten more emotional each game because they know that it’s closer to the end,” Hanner said. “I feel good about what we’ve done, but we obviously have room to improve.”