Lady Airedales rally for win
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Sports
For all the tough losses Alma volleyball coach Kim Weaver endured between 2020 and 2023, Monday’s nail biter at Ozark may be one of the wins that sends the Lady Airedales in the right direction.
Down one set, and trailing 24-23 in the second, Alma rallied for a 20-25, 28-26, 25-17, 25-13 victory against the Lady Hillbillies.
“That particular situation tells the story of the growth we’ve experienced in the last year,” Weaver said. “That’s how I know we’re a different team, because of the way we responded in that set.”
Alma (1-0) travels to Florida this weekend before resuming nonconference play with a pair of tough road matches next week at Paris and Pottsville.
Chloe Gregory led the charge with nine kills and 11 assists. But she was hardly alone. Senior Grace Peters and junior Maggie Brogan finished with nine and seven kills, respectively.
Sophomore Matilyn Dunn finished with 31 assists.
“It was really exciting to get our first win, even though it’s not conference,” Gregory said. “We have our energy and our confidence, and now we just have to take that to Orlando (Fla.) and get more wins.”
“We have the best opportunity in the world to travel to Florida together and compete in six matches,” Weaver said. “I think we’ll come back wrapping up some of that cohesiveness we’re working on. We have two weeks before we face Farmington to kick off the conference.”
In addition to Peters, Gregory, and Brogan, sophomore Emberly Kimes and junior Breella Hughes had six kills apiece.
“That’s a really balanced offense,” Weaver said. “That’s what we want. That speaks to the setters in how they’re distributing the ball.”
Mabrey Birchfield, Ashtyn Carmack, and Ava Sharp also came up big defensively.
Volleyball
Alma junior high volleyball coach Whitney Adams’ squad earned a 25-11, 25-13 victory at Ozark Monday afternoon.
Ellyse Wright led Alma with nine kills (.667 hitting percentage), with three digs. Chloe Kovalck had a solid game with five kills, six digs, six assists, and two aces. Mallory Taylor had a team-high 13 assists, two aces, and one dig.
Also for Alma, Madie House had three kills and one ace; Bentley Vaughn had four aces, six digs, one assist, and a 2.33 passing score. Leah Wilson finished with four digs, and Jaeli Morris had one kill, one solo block, and one ace.
Olivia Whipple added four aces, and two kills, and finished with a 2.33 passing score. Haven Baxter had two digs and one kill, and Camryn Waters added an ace.
Golf
Chase Wood and Piercen Howell continued their strong play on Monday with a nice round at the three-team match with Siloam Springs and Lincoln.
Wood and Howell shot a 73 and 75, respectively, in Bella Vista to power the Airedales. Three other golfers shot 78 - Carson Curd, Parker Morland, and Grady Farmer.
Also for the Airedales, freshman Jack Taylor and senior Miles Kendrick each carded rounds of 81 and 83, respectively.