Lady Eagles dominating SCA

The Liberty Lady Eagles are dominating the SCA as they defeated Cabool and Houston this past week. This past week was also a big week for the Lady Eagles as they celebrated senior night for Grace Berkshire, Bre Daniels, Kaylie Foster, Kallee McDaniel, Maci Tharp, Mackinzie Tomey, and Ha Tan.

“This group of seniors has definitely been the most challenging group,” reflected Head Coach Shari Tune. “They have so much raw talent, it has been a challenge getting them to buy in and mesh. We have made a ton of progress in four years and I hope they take some of the lessons to life with them. As a group, they have persevered so much on and off the court and I think that will be so beneficial for them someday. They are a mixture of characters and personalities and have taught me a lot of patience. I love each one as my own and wish them nothing but the best.”

On Monday, Sept. 25, the Lady Eagles travelled to Marshfield to take on the Lady Blue Jays, a Class 4 team. The JV Lady Eagles fell in 3, 25-19, 9-25 and 6-15. The Varsity Lady Eagles lost in 4, 25-13, 14-25, 23-25, 21-25.

Unofficial stats for the game: Senior Bre Daniels had 5 kills and 10 digs; senior Maci Tharp had 2 serve aces, 5 kills, and 8 digs; senior Kalle McDaniel had 4 kills and 2 digs; senior Kinzie Tomey had 1 serve ace, 5 kills, and 3 digs; junior Korie Lind had 5 kills; junior Bryleigh Wallace had 1 serve ace, 8 kills, and 6 digs; junior Kaylie Wagner had 1 serve ace and 15 digs; sophomore Jade Acklin had 1 kill and 5 digs; sophomore Kinsey Shoup had 1 dig; and freshman Jayli Tharp had 1 serve ace and 1 dig.

“Monday’s game at Marshfield was a battle. We knew going in that they were probably one of the toughest teams we have played this season,” explained Head Coach Shari Tune. “We showed up on fire the first game and then they returned the favor the second. We lost in four, but we battled the last two sets out. I was pleased with how my girls responded to the talent level on the other side of the net. If I can just get these girls to play at this level, at all times, we would be in a lot better position.”

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, the Lady Eagles hosted the Cabool Lady Bulldogs. Both JV and Varsity had big wins for the evening. The JV Lady Eagles won in 2, 25-5, 25-18 while the Varsity won in 3 25-8, 25-12, 25-22.

Unofficial stats for the game: Daniels had 11 kills and 7 digs; Tharp had 1 serve ace, 1 kill, and 6 digs; McDaniel had 6 kills and 1 dig; Tomey had 2 serve aces, 8 kills, and 5 digs; senior Kaylie Foster had 1 dig; Lind had 7 kills; Wallace had 4 serve aces, 8 kills, and 13 digs; Wagner had 4 serve aces and 14 digs; Acklin had 1 serve ace and 6 digs; and Jaylie Tharp had 1 serve ace and 6 digs.

“The game against Cabool was a nice breather for us,” said Coach Tune. “We were able to come out and play pretty solid the first two games and then rally back in the third after they made a push, momentum wise. We will have to get better on unforced errors, but I do feel like we are seeing progress each game we play.”

Rounding out the week, the Lady Eagles hosted the Houston Lady Tigers on Thursday, Sept. 27. It was a big night all around for the Lady Eagles, as the C team won in two sets 25-15, 25-19; JV won in two sets 25-19, 25-20 and Varsity won in a battle of five sets 22-25, 25-15, 26-24, 22-25, 15-11.

“Houston came prepared,” began Coach Tune. “I have said it many times, but we get everyone’s best game. We were not prepared for the slow pace, and even though we made adjustments prior, the girls struggled making those at right. Senior night is always hard mentally for some reason, and I felt my seniors were off at first. We settled in and then just pushed through. Too many errors, but we pulled it out.”

Unofficial stats for the game:

Daniels had 1 serve ace, 18 kills, and 9 digs; Tharp had 5 serve aces, 7 kills, and 19 digs; McDaniel had 1 kill and 3 digs; Tomey had 2 serve aces, 8 kills, and 5 digs; Foster had 3 digs; Lind had 13 kills; Wallace had 2 serve aces, 6 kills, and 18 digs; Wagner had 5 serve aces, 1 kill, and 22 digs; Acklin had 6 digs; and Jayli Tharp had 2 serve aces and 2 digs.