Alma drops tough three-set match to Northside in semis
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Alma Junior High volleyball coach Whitney Adams has watched her group progress through the season with one easy win after another. In all, the team won 16 of 17 matches to begin the season.
Saturday, the Lady Airedales were pushed to the max during a grueling three-set loss to Northside, 28-26, 27-29, 19-17, in the semifinal round of the inaugural Pointer Invitational.
“Once we got to the Gold bracket, we beat (Springdale) Southwest, 2-0 (25-16, 25-15) and lost a very competitive match to Northside in the semis,” Adams said. “We haven’t had a match that was that competitive this year (win or lose), where every point was so valuable. It was a great match.”
Northside went on to win the event, Adams said.
It was a big day (and a busy one) for a number of athletes, including Isabella Peters, who split time between volleyball and Alma’s Dance Invitational. She had seven kills, three aces, and had a season-high 13 digs against Northside.
Anna Swarnes had four kills on seven attempts (.429 attack) against Southwest and had a season-high 11 digs against Northside.
Swarnes added 22 digs overall, 15 kills, three aces, and added three assists, one solo block, and one block assist.
Emberly Kimes had a season-high 12 kills against Northside and nine kills on 12 attempts against Van Buren Freshman Academy. In all, Kimes had a monster day with 38 kills, four digs, three solo blocks, a block assist, and one assist.
Bailee Olvier matched her season high with 24 digs against Northside and averaged 2.4 on 10 attempts in serve-receive against Southwest. Overall, three had 56 digs, six aces, six assists, and averaged 1.8 in 60 serve-receive attempts.
Jaslyn Boone had a career-high 12 assists in wins over Southwest and Van Buren Freshman Academy. She had a career-best 11 digs against Northside. In all, Boone finished with 37 assists, 23 digs, nine aces, and seven kills.
Matilyn Dunn finished the day with 46 assists, eight aces, 25 digs, and three kills. She had a career-high 17 digs against Northside and four aces in the win over Lakeside.
Julia McAlister averaged 1.91 in 11 serve-receive attempts and had a career-best 2.24 in serve-receive against Northside. Overall, McAlister finished with 15 digs, 11 kills, and one block assist.
Jaeda Cahoon finished with nine kills, including a season-high five against Northside. She contributed six digs, three assists, five blocks, and four aces overall.
Alma’s Peyton Morris finished with seven kills, five digs, two block assists, and one solo block.
Olivia Hughes finished with 13 kills, 13 digs, one ace, and one solo block. Camryn Waters had 12 digs and averaged 1.71 in 17 serve-receive attempts. Waters also had a block.