Lady Panthers triumph over Sussex Central, matches 2023 win total

Charles City's Nina Cannada uses a bump to set-up a teammate.

Robb Johnson photo

Last year, Charles City Lady Panthers won two volleyball games during the entire season. So far in their 2024 campaign, they’ve matched that mark in just three outings.

Charles City completed a sweep of the visiting Sussex Lady Tigers 25-15, 25-12, 25-21 in the Sept. 3 non-district matchup.

The key element working well for the Lady Panthers was their serving. Charles City kicked off the contest with two points stemming from serves by Kaylee Stewart and five being contributed by Taniyah Williams. Despite a few errors, Charles City maintained control over the ball, as well as making saves on kill attempts by Sussex. The result was a 25-15 win in the first frame.

In the second set, it was Lady Panther Endya Johnson’s turn at serving. After an error by Sussex to begin the second frame, Johnson rallied off eight straight points, with most of them being aces, to launch the hosts to a 9-0 lead. Charles City coasted for the rest of the set.

In the third frame, Charles City jumped out to a 13-2 advantage before Sussex began chipping away at the Lady Panthers lead. Charles City maintained a three-point lead (24-21) late in the set as Sussex made one final attempt to win. Instead, a serve by Lady Panther Madison Bradby saw two Lady Tigers miscommunicate, resulting in the ball falling between them and allowing the hosts to capture victory.

After the contest, Charles City Lady Panthers Head Coach Lillani Adkins spoke about her team’s improvement.

“I see the progress and I am happy to see what I am seeing when it comes to community pride,” she said. “These girls are playing hard and have made huge strides. I hope people come out and see how they have made progress.”

Charles City improves to 2-1 on the season.