Posted on September 7, 2017.
By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Lady Trojan Hannah Clifton volleys the ball back over the net against Craigmont last week.
Millington senior TZ Hose executes a tip during last week’s game at Craigmont with the Lady Trojans sweeping three sets.
MEMPHIS — The Millington Lady Trojans were on a mission entering their final week of action in the month of August. The previous week was tough for the Lady Trojan Volleyball squad going four sets with Fayette-Ware in a victory and dropping a decision to the rival Brighton Lady Cardinals. So last Monday traveling to Craigmont High School was a chance for Millington to get jumpstarted before taking on district rivals Ripley and Haywood. The non-league game against the Craigmont Lady Chiefs went as plan for Millington dominating 25-12, 25-11 and 25-4. The Lady Trojans wasted no time controlling the tempo and pace of the match winning the first set by 13 points. In the second set Millington jumped ahead 8-3 behind aces from Paige Hall and Lily Morton. Craigmont rallied to cut the Lady Trojan advantage to 11-9. “Our plan coming in was talking and hustling, because knew they were going to be able to hustle,” Millington senior Addison Coulter said. “We had to match them, we had to be able to hustle too.” The Lady Trojans snatched momentum back behind a Hall score. Then Millington Kennedy Lamar pushed her team ahead behind the service line. She delivered multiple aces and had the Lady Chiefs scrambling all over the CHS Gymnasium court. In a flash Millington was ahead 16-9. Down the stretch of the second set Lady Trojans like Hannah Clifton, Olivia Ballard, Ally Morona, Sierra Wilburn, TZ House, Hall and Coulter. Coulter slapped down a kill during Millington’s 9-2 run to earn the 25-11 decision. Millington wasted no effort in the third set with Hall starting off with a couple of aces. After the Lady Chiefs made the score 3-2, Coulter demonstrated her skills attacking at the net. The Bethel University commitment used a spike to make the score 5-2. The Lady Trojans outscored Craigmont 20-2 the rest of the match. “You take it one game at a time, one set,” Coulter said. “You have to play relax.” Coulter’s fellow senior teammate Lily Morton acknowledged prior to the Craigmont start the Lady Trojans were thinking about Tuesday and Thursday nights. “District games and playing Ripley,” she said, “we wanted to go into it strong.” Morton was happy with the effort against the Lady Chiefs. The senior leader wants to see that trend continue against the Ripley Lady Tigers. “We have to play scrappy, work as a team and talk loud,” Morton said. “We have to play together and hustle.” Entering the contests against Ripley and Haywood, the Lady Trojans were 2-0 and in first place. Morton said the seniors will make sure everyone is on the same page prior to the Ripley game.
“Team meeting before and getting everybody pumped up,” she concluded. “This game is very important.”
