Brighton overcomes sloppy start against Covington

By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Entering the rivalry showdown against the Covington Lady Chargers with an 1-2 record, new Brighton Lady Cardinals Volleyball Head Coach Jackie Barrom has given her players a couple of inspirational speeches.
After the first set loss 25-8 on Aug. 23, Barrom wasn’t in the mindset of building up her girls. Before the second set in the Brighton Gymnasium, Barrom got real and honest in the huddle. Then gave a suggestion to her junior standout Brie Howard.
“I told them, ‘We are getting outplayed,’” Barrom recalled. “‘We are not trying hard. We were letting balls drop.’ We were not trying hard. I told them to be smart with the ball and stop just swinging. They were picking up their swings.”
Then Barrom pulled Howard off to the side and gave her a couple of adjustments to make at the net to neutralize the Lady Charger attack. Barrom’s boost sparked her team to win the next three sets 29-27, 25-20 and 27-25.
In the first set Covington Head Coach Angie Gover’s squad looked poised to sweep the entire match winning by 17 points. The Lady Chargers were sparked by Presley Goforth, Kaleigh Easley and Charleigh Cole. The setting of Anna Gover put the hitters in the position to take the opening set.
In the second set the Lady Chargers surged ahead 14-9. Brighton snatched the momentum when Na’Kyra Muex blocked a Covington kill attempt at the net for a score. With Lady Cardinal Tabitha Palmer serving up an ace, Brighton pulled to within 19-17.
After Lady Charger Garcyn Ramsey executed an ace, Covington was ahead 23-20. Brighton rallied courtesy of a Addie Kidd kill and tip to eventually deadlock the set at 24-24.
Kidd scored a couple more points in crunch time and an ace gave Brighton the 29-27 victory in the second set.
In the third set Brighton broke a 9-9 tie to take an 18-13 lead. Covington kept it close with key plays from players like Audrey Glass with a block. But Brighton’s Howard protected the net with spikes and returning Lady Charger kill attempts.
Then Howard stepped behind the service line with a pair of aces to make the score 23-14. Covington rallied for one last time in the third set to make the score 24-20 when EJ McCalla slapped down a kill. Brighton secured the third-set victory when Kidd got a block at the net and the Lady Cardinals were victorious 25-20.
Looking to close out the night, Brighton nursed an early lead when Howard scored on a kill to make the tally 16-13. Covington tied the fourth set at 16-16 with a push from Easley and Gover tip. The Lady Chargers found themselves ahead 18-16 moments later.
Howard remembered Coach Barrom’s suggestion about tipping and positioning at the net. Howard and Muex blocked one Covington spike attempt for a point. Then the duo of Kidd and Destiny Pruitt got another block for Brighton for a score to deadlock the contest at 18-18.
A couple of lead changes later, Brighton was ahead 26-15 courtesy of a Howard block. Howard closed out the set and game with a powerful spike.
“I think they’re doing great,” Barrom said of her team. “It’s coming along. They have practiced more this summer, worked really hard with conditioning and training. I see such a big improvement from where they’ve been to now. From that first set to now, they just made so many adjustments and did what they needed to do. It showed how hard they’ve worked in this game.”
Barrom said she learned something about her team’s character bouncing back from that first set and pulling out two extra-time sets.
“They don’t give up,” she concluded. “They worked hard for every point they go for. They have heart. They have a lot of heart on this team. They’re young girls and they try hard. I’m so proud of them for never giving up.”