Photo: Gadsden State’s Zoe Busbee (14) blocks a kill attempt by Snead State’s Jadia Gary during the Lady Cardinals’ 25-15, 27-25, 25-21 victory in Alabama Community College Conference volleyball action on Sept. 9 in Gadsden. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
The Gadsden State volleyball teams made short work of its region neighbor and Alabama Community College Conference rival on Monday (Sept. 9).
The Lady Cardinals posted a 25-15, 27-25, 25-21 best-of-five sweep over Snead State at Beck Field House.
“We worked a lot on blocking and covering in practice this week and we covered the floor pretty well for the most part,” said Gadsden State head coach Connie Clark.
The Lady Cardinals led from start to finish in game 1, with Taylor Spradley’s kill at game point securing with win.
Game 2 was a different story. Neither team led by more than three points and the game was tied nine times. Trailing 25-24 and with the Lady Parsons serving, GSCC scored three straight points to go up 2-0.
“The girls did a nice job of rallying, but we put ourselves in that situation,” said Clark. “There were two of three balls that dropped that shouldn’t have. I’ve seen Snead play better but I hope that how our girls played was a part of that.”
The third game also was tight. The Lady Cardinals eventually built a 19-15 advantage before Snead tied it at 21-21. Clark responded by calling a time-out, and Gadsden State ended the match on a 4-0 run, including four service points from Shelby Bates.
Spradley had 18 kills, followed by Aubrey Pope with 11, Madelyn Massey with six, Morgan McClendon with five and Landry Bussey and Zoe Busbee with four each.
Massey distributed 35 assists, while Jaylyn Freeman came up with 18 digs.
For the Lady Parsons, Je’Anna Thomas had 22 kills, while Kiara Robinson had 22 assists and Savannah Combs had 12 digs.
2018 Hokes Bluff High School graduate Amanda Noah had two kills and one dig for Snead, while 2018 Westbrook Christian graduate Kylee Berndt had four digs.
The victory improved Gadsden State’s record to 3-1 in ACCC action and 8-5 overall.
“I’d like to be 4-0 in the conference but it’s better than 1-3,” said Clark. “We’ll take it.”
The Lady Cardinals will compete in a tournament at Huntingdon College in Montgomery this Saturday (Sept. 14), then travel to Bevill State on Monday and Wallace-Hanceville on Wednesday. Gadsden State hosts Coastal Alabama South on Thursday, Sept. 19.