Lady Trojans capture elusive win over Munford

By Thomas Sellers Jr.
With that elusive victory a set away, the Millington Lady Trojans dug deep in the fifth decisive frame opening night.
The Aug. 16 showdown at the rival Munford Lady Cougars was the latest chapter. The rivalry had been dominated by the Lady Cougars lately with the members of the Millington senior class winless against Munford.
Could the beginning of the 2021 season be the day the Lady Trojans snap the jinx against the Lady Cougars? Millington earned first and third sets wins 25-23 and 25-18 respectively. The youthful Lady Cougars under the guidance of new Head Coach Shayna Stewart fought to win the second and fourth sets 25-14 and 25-17.
The fifth set started as a microcosm of the entire matchup with both teams trading points and the Lady Trojans nursing a 6-5 advantage. Then Millington outscored Munford 9-4 in the final moments to give Head Coach Abby Wade the cherished win over their rivals 15-9.
“These seniors deserve it, the group I started with as a head coach,” Wade said. “They were freshmen and they deserve that win. They needed that win, proof that they can do it. And there are good things to come.”
The Millington lineup of Emily Denson, Abbie Gallo, Shelby Pindell, Kyndall Lee, Kaira Lopez, Savannah Spearman, Anna Speight and Janie Smith played composed volleyball throughout the nigth.
Millington libero Lopez made a few timely plays in the opening set with dives to the floor and hits for points. One of her scores put the Lady Trojans ahead 13-11. Munford rallied behind the serving of Ava King to regain the lead at 20-18.
Then it was Lopez’s turn to execute a serve that would recapture the advantage with her ace giving the Lady Trojans a 22-21 lead. Millington outscored Munford 3-2 down the stretch to take the first set 25-23.
Set 2 was dominated by the Lady Cougars behind the serving of King and athletic play of Corbin Michael. Michael slapped down spikes giving Munford leads of 13-7 and 16-9. The Lady Cougars closed out the second set 25-14 when Emily Turner dominated the service line.
The third set gave the Lady Trojans an opportunity to regroup. Over surviving the onslaught of Lady Cougar Sadie Billings serving up aces early in the set, Millington erased the 7-4 deficit. Eventually the Lady Trojans were ahead 11-8.
Behind late scores from Janie Smith and Anna Speight, Millington won the set 25-18 and went ahead 2-1 overall in sets.
“Very young team,” Munford Head Coach Stewart noted. “We had countless miss serves. That will kill you  in a game. It kills your momentum and your playing together. When you get those five or six points rolling like we had in the second and fourth sets, that made all the difference. Serves, serves, serves.”
Millington appeared ready to put the finishing touches on the game in the fourth set after Kyndall Lee scored on a hit to make the score 10-3. Then behind solid play from Michael, King and Aulbre Patterson helped the Lady Cougars outscored Millington 22-7 the rest of the set.
“With a stud like Corbin Michael, her height is incredible, her vertical is incredible and her swing is good,” Stewart noted. “We’ve got to make sure she mixes it up as much as we mix it up with the other. Relying on just her, you can’t win too many games. Using her strengths and mixing up what she can do with all the things our other girls can do will make us dangerous.”
What made Millington dangerous the entire game was something Wade developed in practice over the years.
“In practice we work on, when in doubt, just get it over,” she recalled. “In practice we work on making the smart plays. It’s really rewarding to see it work out and come through during a game.”
After a couple of deadlocks in the fifth set, Millington seized the game with an ace from Lopez. Denson provided points for the Lady Trojans at the service line and a tip from Abbie Gallo pointed Millington in the direction of victory.
“I hope they build off of this, it is a springboard,” Wade said. “I hope they take this and say, ‘We’re not accepting anything less.’ We did good tonight and I hope they strive to better than the last game.”
Meanwhile Stewart said her young team will use the setback as a lesson for growth.
“You know how I am, I will to fight the fight,” she concluded. “It showed tonight that there were lots of glimpses of positivity tonight. That was one that they’re going to do what it takes everyday to get better.”