Lady Bulldogs sweep Lady Panthers 3-0
J.R. Tidwell/FCT Belgreen senior Darby Hargett (18) makes a serve against the Hackleburg Lady Panthers Monday afternoon at Belgreen. Hargett is the only senior on the Lady Bulldogs’ team.
BELGREEN — The Belgreen Lady Bulldogs volleyball team did not look like a group that was winning its first match of the season Monday afternoon against the Hackleburg Lady Panthers.
Belgreen won the match 3-0 in straight sets, conceding only 28 total points to the Lady Panthers.
“It’s great to pick up the win,” Belgreen head coach Teresa Whitten said. “They’ve been so close to winning some other games this year. We went five sets with Tharptown last week, but they beat us on the last one.”
The Lady Bulldogs got off to a great start against Hackleburg in the first set, winning 25-4. Belgreen rarely let the ball touch the court in bounds on their side, and Hackleburg could not coordinate the necessary defense needed to stop the Lady Bulldogs’ offense.
Hackleburg had a much better time early on in the second set, but the Lady Bulldogs puled ahead late in the round to win 25-13. The height and defense of players like sisters Allyson and Laken Bragwell, senior Darby Hargett and junior Hanna Taylor was too much for Hackleburg to handle.
While Belgreen had a coordinated defense and funneled the ball consistently over the net, the Lady Panthers looked like a team that had no communication or coordination on defense.
The Lady Panthers once again got off to a better start in the third set, but Belgreen took a 17-11 lead in the set when sophomore Baily Clark came up to serve.
Clark hit three straight aces to put the Lady Bulldogs up 20-11. The next five serves from Clark, who finished out the win for Belgreen, included two more aces and three serves the Lady Panthers were unable to return.
In all Clark hit eight straight serves to end the game, and Hackleburg did not get a single one back over the net.
Belgreen won the set 25-11, giving them the 3-0 sweep.
“We have a really young team,” Whitten said. “This is only our second year having a team, and we still have a long way to go. We don’t have another area game until next week against Phillips, and Colbert Heights will give us a good test before then.”
