Lady Cats Fall to Glasgow, Malta at District 2B Tournament
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The Harlem Lady Cats were in Glasgow this past weekend for the District 2B Volleyball Tournament. The Lady Cats entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed but were confident they could improve on that.
The Lady Cats faced the No 3 seeded Glasgow Scotties in round one to get the tournament started. Harlem took a quick 3-0 lead only to see the Scotties rattle off seven straight. Senior Kaitlynn Johnson scored a kill that made the score 7-4. The Lady Cats fought hard to stay within striking distance. Junior Raelynne Briere kept the Scottie lead at three, 10-7, with a big block. Another Kill from Jonson and a kill from junior Jaden Blackcrow made the score 15-11 in favor of Glasgow. The Scotties took off and scored 10 in a row to win the first set 25-11.
In set number two, junior Aaraya Mount started things off with an ace and a back row kill from freshman Ali Doyle that gave the Lady Cats a 5-0 lead early. The Scotties would get on the board following a time out, but a kill from senior Emma Billmayer kept Harlem in front 8-5.
Another kill from Billmayer and a block from Briere doubled up the Scotties at 12-6. Glasgow would again find their rhythm and take the lead. Johnson found a hole in the Scottie defense to bring the Lady Cats within two, 15-17, but a strong Scottie finish led to a 25-16 set win to put Glasgow up 2-0 in the match.
In the third set, the Lady Cats again took an early lead only to see Glasgow storm right back. Harlem trailed just 11-9 before another Scottie run put the score out of reach, leading to a 25-17 third set win and a 3-0 match win for Glasgow.
Friday afternoon, the Lady Cats found themselves in a loser out contest with the Malta M-ettes. The Lady Cats took the M-ettes to five sets in their last meeting and were looking for a strong showing once again.
Tournaments are unpredictable and with the season on the line funny things can sometimes happen. In the first set, Harlem never got anything going as Malta built a big early lead and coasted to a 25-8 opening set win.
The Lady Cats finally got going in set number two and gave the M-ettes all they could handle. A big block from Billmayer put the Lady Cats up 3-2. Moments later, a kill from Billmayer brought Harlem within one, 10-9. An ace from Mount saw the Lady Cats retake the lead at 12-11.
Malta slowly built a lead and a kill from Blackcrow kept Harlem close, 23-19, but it was too little too late as Malta took set number two 25-20.
Set number three started with a back row kill from Mount. Johnson recorded a block to keep Harlem close at 9-6. Billmayer kept the Lady Cats in the game with a pair of kills, 17-13. Malta was able to maintain their four point cushion for the remainder of the contest and win the set 15-21 and the match 3-0, ending the Lady Cats’ season.
Head Coach Kim Faulkinberry summed up the tournament and the season by saying, “We didn’t play as well as we had wanted to. At tourney time anything can happen. We didn’t play near as well as we had in previous weeks, but that is the way the ball bounces sometimes. I do wish our seniors nothing but the best! They are capable of doing great things in life. Returning girls will need to put in some work in the off season, which I know that most will do! We are already looking ahead, can’t live in the past. We just have to keep moving forward.”
