Trojans fail to avenge lone 2013 loss versus Chargers
Published 9:54 pm Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Meadowview Christian’s Lyndsey Patton prepares for a spike from a Cornerstone Christian player during Tuesday’s match at Meadowview Christian. The Chargers defeated the Trojans 26-24, 20-25, 25-17, 25-18 to hand Meadowview Christian its second loss of the season. Both losses came against Cornerstone Christian.–Daniel Evans
Meadowview Christian tried to avenge its only defeat of the season Tuesday, when Cornerstone Christian came to Selma, but once again the Chargers were able to get the best of the Trojans, winning 26-24, 20-25, 25-17, 25-18.
“That’s a good team. They were down a couple of times and they kept fighting,” Trojans head coach Tim Burton said. “We hung in there pretty well. We just couldn’t pull it out at the end.”
The first set was the most competitive of the day and it ended up setting the tempo for the entire match.
A 10-10 tie eventually turned into a 24-22 Meadowview lead, but the Trojans were unable to sustain it with Cornerstone winning the last four points of the game in succession for a 26-24 victory.
Clearly not defeated, Meadowview jumped to quick 7-1 and 18-9 leads in the second set. Cornerstone again showed fight, making the set close before the Trojans closed it out 25-20.
From there, the Trojans struggled in areas where they are usually consistent: serving and ball control.
“We didn’t play the volleyball we are supposed to play,” Burton said. “Our ball control was off. Our serving was off more than it should be.”
The match, now basically a best of three, seemed to be all Cornerstone from then on. The Chargers took a quick lead in the third set, before closing it out 25-17.
The final set was the same, with Cornerstone winning 25-18 to close out the match, their second win over a Meadowview team that has unblemished results against the other teams it has faced.
With his team in deep holes in the third and fourth set, Burton said the strategy didn’t change.
“It’s the same thing all the way through the game: just play volleyball,” Burton said. “If they play volleyball like they are supposed to, the score is going to reflect it.”
Burton addressed that, saying that when his team plays the volleyball they are capable of, they play at a very high level. At times this season, including during wins against Morgan Academy and Clarke Prep, Burton said his team was at that point.
Now, the Trojans have some areas to work on before a home game against Southern Thursday and a tournament at Morgan Academy on Saturday. Among the teams in the tournament at Morgan this weekend will be Tuscaloosa Academy, ranked No. 6 in the ASWA poll.
