Charles City High School volleyball returns to court, falls in straight sets to Lancaster

Charles City's Anija Brown positions herself to bump the ball over her head to keep it in play.

Robb Johnson photo

Charles City High School’s Lady Panthers’ volleyball team last participated in Fall sports in 2019, the season prior to the global pandemic. A triumphant return on Aug. 24 looked to reignite the program to make it a mainstay. But a stiff challenge greeted Charles City as the visiting Lancaster Lady Red Devils, who were state quarterfinalists last year, didn’t let the fanfare last too long for the hosts.

Charles City fell 8-25, 10-25, 11-25 in the season opening contest for both teams.

Lancaster came out, displaying their experience early with four aces before an Anija Brown tap by the Lady Panther snapped the streak. Charles City pulled within two after Cheyenne Christian’s ace (7-5), before the visitors orchestrated an 18-3 run to claim the first set.

In the second set, Lancaster attacked the net using their height advantage for easy kills. Meanwhile, Charles City’s reaction time to the speed wasn’t fast enough as they dropped the second set. In the third set, the hosts managed a 1-0 lead, one of the team’s very few of the night, but Lancaster cruised to capture the match in straight sets.

After the contest, first-year head coach Lillani Adkins discussed her team’s effort.

“We have to start moving our feet,” she said. “We also need to communicate with each other.

“We only have one player with experience from the team we had three years ago,” Adkins said. “Other than that, we are all pretty fresh. All-in-all, I think they did well in their first game.”

Charles City’s record drops to 0-1.