Top-ranked Mathews easily disposes of Charles City

Charles City's Charity Jones puts in the effort to return a Mathews' spike.

Andre' Jones photo

As Charles City’s Lady Panthers continue their season of rejuvenation in volleyball, many opportunities to make a statement become available to the team. A perfect example was hosting the number one, Group 1A team in the state Mathews’ Lady Blue Devils in a Oct. 8 contest.

The youthful Lady Panthers held a lead for a brief moment before the visitors performed to top notch expectations, sweeping the hosts 25-5, 25-6, 25-5 in the Tidewater District contest.

Charles City stunned Mathews quickly, as an ace by senior Sydney Richard put the hosts ahead 1-0. That lead reached 2-1 before the visitors retaliated. Behind the serving of Mia Gillenwater, the number one team in the state reeled off 15 consecutive points and raced out to an 18-3 lead prior to closing out set one 25-5. The Lady Blue Devils wasted no time in set two 13-1 before cruising to 25-6, and closed out the sweep with a 25-5 win in the final frame.

After the game, head coach James Raj commented on his objective for the contest against the powerhouse visitors.

“Our goal for tonight was to play the game as well as we could,” commented the coach. “We wanted to prove to them [Mathews] that we could play and send them back home and talking about us.

“The Mathews’ head coach came to me after the game and said she has seen us improved,” Raj continued. “She commented how she was impressed by the way returned their spikes and not many opponents have been able to do that to their team.

“I didn’t expect anything more but to play this game to the best of our ability,” he concluded.

Charles City drops to 1-9 for the year.