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Tallulah Falls libero Kate Gary stands ready to help her teammate get the ball back to the opponents’ side of the net. AUSTIN POFFENBERGER/Special
Tallulah Falls played five matches in a busy Saturday at Loganville Christian, and finished third overall in the tournament. Overall, the team went 2-3 in matches played.
“We had a good day,” said coach Matt Heyl. “Even though we had a losing record, 4 out of our 5 matches I was very pleased with.”
Due to the seeding, TFS had to play two opponents twice each. Playing the host team, Loganville Christian, accounted for two losses, though the team’s only ‘poor’ match according to Heyl was the first contest against the pair.
The Lady Indians started out with a 25-18, 25-9 straight-sets win over Stratford (Macon). After a 20-25, 16-25 tough loss to North Oconee, the girls then fell to LCA 14-25, 8-25. A win over Stratford again of 25-22, 25-9 got TFS into the semifinals. Playing Loganville Christian in that round, Tallulah played well despite falling 19-25, 19-25.
“It was great to see the ladies make the blocking changes we installed at the end of the first match against them,” Heyl said. “We got some blocks but we also forced them to have several hitting errors. Blockings needs to be our MO this year with our height. Katarina Foskey is becoming better and better with her blocking.”
Foskey was a standout offensively and blocking, according to Heyl. Addy McCoy offensively shined, and served well also. Becca Heyl passed well, making very few errors across all five matches. Claire Kelly brought energy, hustle, and some pretty solid passing. Kate Gary had her usual sacrifice and hustle.
The Lady Indians are now 4-6 after a rapid start to the season.
Middle School
TFS’ middle school volleyball teams opened the season in a Saturday jamboree at Habersham Central, with three matches of two sets each. In the opening sets, the A-Team played for TFS. In the second sets, the B-Team took the court.
The first match came at 8 a.m. against Hart County. The A-Team played hard, but had first-game jitters according to coach Natasha McEntire. TFS dropped the first set 8-25. The B-Team played very well, edging Hart 25-24.
“The B-Team worked amazingly as a team,” said McEntire. “Of our nine girls that played today, six are new to TFS volleyball.”
The next match came against Stephens County at 10 AM. The A-Team made a powerful comeback and won the first set 25-15. The B-Team dropped the second set 10-25. The final contest was versus Rabun County. Both teams rallied and worked well together, with the A-Team winning 25-20 and the B-Team 25-11.
“I’m looking forward to watching these ladies grow together individually and as a team, representing TFS with great teamwork and success,” McEntire said. “Champions keep playing until they get it right.”
The Lady Indians will open the season officially next week.
– Brian Carter