Center MS spikers take 4-of-5 from Carthage
CENTER -- It was a great night for four of the five Center Middle School volleyball squads as they battled and defeated arch-rival Carthage here at the Center MS Gymnasium. All three Lady Rider 7th grade teams swept their way to victories, along with the Center 8th Grade 'B' squad. The only team that couldn't get the win was the 8th grade 'A' team, which had coincidentally played well against the same Carthage team recently at the Panola Tournament.
Center (7th-A) 2, Carthage 0 -- In what was probably the most exciting match of the night, the Center 7th 'A' team played two close games against Carthage before capturing a 25-18, 26-24 thriller, to the delight of the home crowd. The first game was close for a while, but the Lady Riders used good serves to take a lead. Carthage then came back to cut the lead to 19-16. But Center pulled away by outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 6-2 to take the early 1-0 advantage.
The Lady Riders trailed for most of the second game, falling behind 15-7 at one point. But Center used stellar serving to outscore Carthage 10-2 to tie the score at 17-17, forcing Carthage to take a timeout. The lead then went back and forth, and Carthage once again took a 3-point lead, 23-20. Center then fought back once again, tying the game 24-24, before scoring the final two points to gain the victory.
Center (8th-B) 2, Carthage 0 -- The Center 8th grade 'B' Lady Riders trailed early, but fought back for a 12-12 tie. Center took a 14-13 lead, its first advantage since 1-0, and then opened up a five point-lead, 21-16, before going on to the Game 1 win. In Game 2 Center controlled the match throughout, recording the 25-17 victory.
Carthage 2, Center (8th-A) 0 -- The only match Center lost, and a tough one to swallow, was the Lady Rider 8th grade 'A' team falling to Carthage by counts of 25-5 and 25-10. Center had trouble with Carthage's serving throughout the match and couldn't get control of the ball. The Lady Riders could never get on track throughout the match, much to the dismay of CMS Head Coach Beth Nichols.
"This loss was tough because there were so many things off the court that kept these girls from playing like they were capable of tonight," Nichols stated. "We had just played Carthage at the Panola Tournament had done a great job against them. But playing at home for the first time, and just playing game 5 of the season, and with all of the family and friends here watching, I think the girls got too nervous and couldn't settle down and just play. [The players] were even coming up to me today, telling me how nervous they were.
"We didn't serve well and we didn't relax and just react to the ball and return their serves. I know we can play better than that, but we just didn't make the plays. We just never got started."
Center (7th-B) 2, Carthage 0 -- The Center 7th grade 'B' team edged Carthage 25-16 in the first game and then blew the Lady Bulldogs out 25-15 in Game 2 to take a two-game sweep.
Center (7th-C) 2, Carthage 0 -- There were enough players on both the Center and Carthage 7th grade team to put a 'C' team on the court. Center captured a 25-16 win in Game 1, then came back and was leading 16-11 when the 30-minute time limit ran out.