Injuries, long rallies plague Lady Panthers in volleyball contest

Charles City's Kylie Brinkley returns an overhead bump for a score against Mathews.

Andre' Jones

Plagued by injuries and garnering a visit from last year’s state semifinalist Mathews Lady Blue Devils, Charles City Lady Panthers couldn’t overcome the odds during a Sept. 13 contest.

The Lady Panthers, who only dressed seven players, fell 25-9, 25-8, 25-11 in straight sets in the Tidewater District contest.

“The last 48 hours I lost half of my team,” said Lady Panther head coach Jessica Hornsby. “One has a concussion, another has a broken finger, and one was injured during pregame. Two more are out for personal reasons and we did the best with what we could.”

The hosts started out well in the opening set. After falling behind by five, Lady Panther Kylie Brinkley’s backhanded bump kept the deficit at four (10-6). Charles City maintained striking distance, trailing by eight (16-8) before Mathews received back-to-back aces from Victoria Bing. Her serves along with two spikes powered a 6-0 run for the visitors to claim set one.

Sets two and three followed similar patterns to the opening stanza. In set two, Charles City trailed by only six (13-7) before Lady Blue Devil Madison South’s two spikes prompted a 9-0 run to put it out of reach. In the third frame, Charles City got with five (12-7) after Kourtney Wyatt’s tap found a space between Mathews’ defenders.

But the current third-ranked Group 1A tea recovered, rallying off a 6-0 run before claiming the match with a 25-11 win in the final set.

Hornsby commented that her team showed confidence throughout the contest, but said one or two plays by the visitors.

“We were solid in the front part of the sets,” the coach set. “However, Mathews kept doing that one move and that threw us off our game.

“We showed confidence tonight, but I know they have a different level on confidence,” Hornsby continued. “This team is not like the one we have at practice and I want to see our confidence and skills transfer from the games to practice.”

Charles City’s Lady Panthers remain winless on the year, posting a record of 0-4.