VOLLEYBALL: Eastern Wayne turns back Rosewood in 4 sets

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 23, 2016 1:49 PM

• Print
• Email

By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

The post-game coaches' reactions were polar opposites.

Despite seeing her team improve to 4-0 overall, Anna Hajjar wasn't 100 percent satisfied with Eastern Wayne's performance during its 27-29, 25-13, 25-21, 25-13 victory over county rival Rosewood on Monday afternoon.

"I was happy we won, but I wasn't really happy how we won," Hajjar said. "That's not how we played last Thursday (against North Lenoir). I didn't really enjoy watching today. That's just me."

Rosewood dipped to an uncharacteristic 0-4 overall.

Head coach Jennifer Cochran said the team needed additional practice time to refine the "little things" and not get mired in inconsistent rotations on the court. The Eagles continue to seek a dominant hitter/blocker on the front row.

"We're a lot better than we were last week," said Cochran, who returns just two starters from a year ago.

"We have a little heart and we're not going to give up regardless the score, and that's something that we haven't had in a really, really long time. So, I'm real proud of them."

Hajjar and junior Emily Newsome cited their team's inability to properly communicate on the court. Rosewood's contentious defensive play bothered the Warriors, whose offense resembled chaos at times as they scrambled to keep balls alive.

The Eagles erased a five-point deficit and closed out the opening set on Ada Rivera's off-speed shot from sophomore setter Kaitlyn Kincaid, who logged a team-best 15 assists.

Eastern Wayne regained some focus in the second set. Alyssa Jackson's solo block and consecutive kills sparked an early 7-3 run. Newsome provided key strikes from the outside and right side off reverse sets from junior Naomi Williams.

Jackson and Newsome combined for 33 of the Warriors' 51 kills as a team.

"Before the game we talked about how we needed to play consistently and to our level," Newsome said. "When one person talks, everybody talks. We didn't have any leaders this game. We started in a bad mood, starting digging ourselves a hole and they'd go on long runs."

Rosewood, behind two aces from senior Kendall Gurley, built a 14-10 advantage in the third set. EW answered with a dominant 10-4 run as Williams and Newsome -- who combined for 40 assists -- used their different offensive options that challenged the Eagles to adjust.

Newsome had five kills as the Warriors seized a 15-9 advantage in the fourth set. Rosewood could never find an offensive rhythm and ended the match with a service error.

TALK, TALK, TALK

• A former News-Argus volleyball player-of-the-year and defensive specialist, Hajjar stressed the importance of communication on the court. She heard very little and noticed, at times, the players bicker after some plays.

"We thrive off our energy and voice, once that's gone, we plummet and that's what happened," she said.

SERVE WORK

• Eastern Wayne committed 15 service errors and surrendered 12 aces during the four-set affair. Seven of the miscues occurred in the third set which prompted a parent to shout "come on girls, that's seven points we've given them."

DIFFERENT SYSTEM

• Rivera is the lone experienced setter back for the Eagles, however Cochran has turned her into an all-around player. Rivera logged 12 of the team's 33 kills, served four aces and dished out three assists.

But it was her passing and scrambling after loose balls that helped keep Rosewood in the point, and frustrate a Warriors offense -- that at times -- thought it had put the ball away.

CLEAN IT UP

• The season is barely 10 days old, but unforced errors -- service, ball-handling and attacks -- have appeared in abundance for many teams in the News-Argus readership area. EW had 31 miscues compared to 37 for RHS in their match.

KEY STATS

• The Warriors led 51-33 in kills and 43-23 in assists.