The Craig County Rockets will host Eastern Montgomery in volleyball Thursday for “Senior Night.” It will be the third game of the week for Craig as the girls prepare for next week’s Pioneer District tournament.
This week Craig had a Monday game at North Cross and a Tuesday game at Parry McCluer that were too late for publication. The Rockets came into the week at 4-16 after three home games last week, playing well at times but not so good at other times.
“We can’t play a complete game,” said coach Geoff Boyer. “Half the time we look like we’re headed for state play and half the time we look like we’d have a hard time beating the jayvee team.
“We have a tendency to give up five or more points on one person’s serve,” he continued. “Emotionally, that’s a killer. We keep fighting back but we need to have a whole night of strong play.”
The Rockets opened last week with a home loss to Parry McCluer, 25-18, 25-10 and 25-23. Taylor Sloss had 17 assists, Jaci McAlwee had eight kills and Haleigh Smith had six kills and two blocks.
A night later Craig was home again and lost to Bath, 25-13, 25-18 and 25-23. Ashleigh Peters had her best match of the season with eight assists, three kills and two aces. Nicole Austin had five kills and five aces and Eva Myers served up two aces.
“Eva played really well,” said Boyer. “She’s one of our captains and one of our best servers. She’s about 90 percent for the year.”
On Thursday the Rockets hosted Narrows and lost 25-15, 25-20 and 25-11. McAlwee had five kills but otherwise it was a tough night for the Rockets on Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The girls gave pink flowers, donated by Debbie Myers, to cancer survivors but that was the highlight of the night for the home team.
The Rockets hope to turn things around next week when the Pioneer District tournament begins. The Rockets will likely be fourth or fifth in the district and rematch with Bath is a possibility. The first round is scheduled for Monday at the higher seeds, and if Craig can finish fourth the Rockets would be home. The second round moves to Eastern Montgomery on October 24.
