Any time a young program has a new coach, it typically takes some time for the players to begin finding their groove.
Though the Mountain Grove Lady Panthers have just five match victories on the season, things are starting to come together for the program as they have won three of their last four matches.
Last week alone, they swept both Thayer and Eminence for a pair of victories.
Against the Lady Bobcats on Pink Out Night and on the same evening they crowned a Net King, the Lady Panthers dominated their way through three games. They won 25-14, 25-14 and 25-16.
Senior Kelsey Watson paced Mountain Grove with 12 kills.
“I was pleased with how we started the game off with a lot of energy,” said Mountain Grove head coach Ashley Martin. “We didn’t ‘wait to get started,’ which always helps with the momentum of the ballgame. Kelsey Watson was a force in the middle. I was so proud of how she continued to work Thayer’s middle back. She had 12 kills and was an excellent leader. Her intensity and energy carried us through the next two sets. It felt good to sweep a team in three.”
The Net King crowned was Dale Shaeffer, who was escorted by Lady Panthers’ senior Gracie Farran.
They followed that performance by picking up another sweep. This time they knocked off Eminence 25-17, 25-20 and 25-10.
Watson had a team-high 13 kills in the win.
“Once again, we started the game off with energy and momentum and never looked back,” Martin said.
“I was happy with how the girls played and pushed through to beat a good Eminence team. They never let them score point runs and we were able to sweep them in three…Reagan had great swings and kills from the outside. It felt great to end our regular season play with a win.”
