The Talladega College Lady Tornadoes celebrate after winning a point in their match against LeMoyne-Owen College on Thursday.
Talladega College head volleyball coach Rebecca Williams looks on as the Lady Tornadoes face the Lady Magicians of LeMoyne-Owen College on Thursday
The Lady Tornadoes of Talladega College opened the 2009 volleyball season with a victory over LeMoyne-Owen College Thursday
TC sophomore Jessica Futrell was the player of the game against LeMoyne-Owen on Thursday
TC's Gabrielle Powell had 11 kills against LeMoyne-Owen College on Thursday
The Lady Tornadoes had to work for their win as LeMoyne-Owen wouldn’t go away after TC dominated the Lady Magicians in the opening game, 25-14. TC lost the second game 25-10 before coming back and winning the third, 25-11. LeMoyne-Owen forced a fifth game by pulling out a 25-23 victory in the fourth. The Lady Tornadoes dominated the fifth game, winning 15-4 to take the match, 3-2.
The Lady Tornadoes started strong in the first game, winning the first five points on Bea Anderson’s serve. LeMoyne-Owen closed the gap, 8-5 but didn’t get any closer and the Lady Tornadoes cruised to a 25-14 win.
The second game saw the Lady Tornadoes struggle. LeMoyne-Owen won the first three points and never trailed in the game on their way to a 25-10 win.
TC head coach Rebecca Williams said “playing to the other team’s level” was the Lady Tornadoes’ biggest problem in their first match of the season.
“You’ve got to play (hard) regardless of who you play,” Williams said.
TC came out strong again in the third game, rolling to a 25-11 victory. The fourth game was a battle for both teams with the lead changing hands nearly every point. The Lady Tornadoes were leading 23-22, but lost the final three points to give the Lady Magicians a 25-23 victory and force a fifth game to decide the match.
With their home winning streak on the line, the Lady Tornadoes came out strong in the final game. After dropping the first point TC scored eight straight points to take a commanding lead. The Lady Tornadoes won the deciding game 15-4 to keep their winning streak in place.
“I really think that we did good, but the second game we gave up on ourselves, got relaxed,” sophomore Jessica Futrell said after the game. “We were playing their game and not our game. We could have done better, way better. We could have beaten them in three. We got relaxed and played their game.”
Futrell was the player of the game for the Lady Tornadoes. She recorded 13 kills.
Freshman Gabrielle Powell played well in her first college match, contributing 11 kills.
“Exciting,” Powell said of her first match in college. “I wasn’t expecting it to be like this. Our confidence was down, but we came back.”
Apiffany Richards had 12 kills while Bea Anderson added 41 assists.
The Lady Tornadoes (1-0) return to action on Saturday at Belhaven.
