BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Trinity Christian School outlasted crosstown rivals The Oaks School 3-2 in a grueling, ultracompetitive match on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The Lady Eagles (#-#) took down the Lady Mighty Oaks (#-#) 25-23 in Set 2, 25-16 in Set 4 and 15-13 in Set 5, while the Oaks defeated Trinity 25-23 in Set 1 and 25-23 again in Set 3.
The pivotal moment in the match came midway through the fourth set. With the Lady Mighty Oaks staging a comeback attempt to win their third set, the Lady Eagles halted their momentum and went on a dominant run that forced the winner-take-all frame.
“I told them in the timeout at the end of the game their 100% effort, never-quit attitude and energy really carried them, and when skill isn’t all the way there, your energy and your effort really carry you through,” Trinity head coach Taylor White said. “I think that’s really what pulled us through. [The Oaks is] really good this year, and they have a lot of new players. It just feels good. It’s a good way to continue our season.”
Trinity’s Sadie Wood, who was a dominant force for the Lady Eagles on the back line, said her teammates’ willingness to be positive no matter the score ultimately made the difference.
“We try to keep good attitudes and keep a good mindset of, ‘It’s okay, we’ve got this, onto the next ball,’ because it’s going to be okay even if we lose,” Wood said. “This wasn’t a region game, so it’s going to be okay. We just keep a good attitude and play our hardest, so this was refreshing and fun.”
While there were plenty of bright moments for The Oaks, particularly when they held on at the end to claim the third set, the result was a bitter pill to swallow.
However, according to Lady Mighty Oaks head coach Ashlyn Watson, there have been drastic improvements since the season started, particularly with rotations and defensive play.
“This was the best set they’ve played the entire season, and seeing them actually mesh together, know where they’re supposed to be, hit the ball and just play volleyball like it’s supposed to be played, I’m so proud of them,” Watson said. “The result didn’t even matter. I just wanted them to play some good volleyball, and that was a really good game with some really good girls against them. And I think they pushed all the way through. It wasn’t the finish we wanted, but they did really good.”
Trinity will hit the road and face Chambers Academy in LaFayette on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m.
The Oaks travels to Montgomery to take on Success Unlimited Academy, also on Sept. 17 at 5 p.m.
