Lady Panthers make regional volleyball debut, fall to top seed Middlesex in straight sets

Charles City's Derequa Johnson (left) tips the ball over Middlesex defenders Kaitlyn Hargrove (center) and Payton Baker (right), leading to a successful score.

Andre' Jones photo

On Oct. 22, Charles City’s Lady Panthers’ volleyball team concluded their regular season and packed up for the offseason. But something unprecedented happened on Oct. 27, forcing Charles City into a position that they have never been before in school history, the regional playoffs.

Charles City’s Lady Panthers first appearance in the playoffs wasn’t a warm welcoming one, as they fell to top-seeded Middlesex Lady Chargers 7-25, 7-25, 8-25 on the road Monday night, officially bringing their season to an end with a record of 6-15.

In the first set, Charles City took advantage of a Lady Chargers team that underestimated them early on. After tying the game at one all, Charles City went on a small scoring spurt behind an ace from Aalaya King, taking a 4-1 lead. Middlesex responded, scoring the next three points before each team exchanged a pair of scores. Middlesex began pulling away, as a kill by Annie Bray along with back-to-back aces by Payton Baker launched 9-1 run. Even with a timeout, Charles City failed to slow Middlesex’s momentum as the top seed captured the first frame.

In set two, the Lady Chargers started slow once again with the Lady Panthers trailing by one (3-2). Middlesex picked up the pace with a 9-2 run before they launched a full throttle attack. Two aces by Sophie Wilds were factors as Middlesex orchestrated an 8-0 run for a double-digit advantage (20-4). The Lady Chargers closed out the set to win game number two.

In the third stanza, Charles City slowly saw their season fading as mental errors and miscues in the frame. Trailing 9-5, Charles City could not return back-to-back spike and scores from Baker, leading to a 8-1 Middlesex run. From there, the Lady Chargers coasted to the win and sweeping the match.

While Charles City’s season came to an end, for Lady Panthers Head Coach Lillani Adkins, she reflected back on the historical season for a program that traditionally has struggled in volleyball.

“I can say that I am proud of what these girls have done,” she said after the match. “They have put so much work into getting this program to where it is today in comparison to where they started years ago.

“You look at this year, and this team was in a lot of situations they never have been in before,” Adkins continued. “We’ve had leads in sets and lost them. We’ve been ahead in games, and we couldn’t finish them off. We had on-court experience, but we haven’t had a lot of in-game situation experience.

“I hope these girls take this experience and cherish it because they made history and done something no other team before them have accomplished before,” Adkins concluded.