Talladega College freshman Zia Mose sends the ball back across the net against Lawson State Thursday.
Talladega College's Jessica Futrell goes up to return the ball across the net against Lawson State on Thursday
Gabrielle Powell and the Lady Tornadoes defeated Lawson State Thursday.
TC's Tiffany Shelton goes up for a block against Lawson State Thursday.
“I was excited about the game,” Talladega head coach Rebecca Williams said. “The ladies came out different than what they did in the first home game. They were on fire at first, but when we got to our last match we relaxed. The one thing that I am happy about is that we are still on our winning streak at home.”
In the first match the Lady Cougars made the Lady Tornadoes work for every point. With the game tied 20-20 in the first game TC freshman Zia Mose began to take over. Mose scored three of the Lady Tornadoes last five points to help them take the first set.
In the second game, Lawson State stayed within striking distance, but the Lady Tornadoes were to strong down the stretch. Sophomore Jessica Futrell would close the match with a powerful kill.
In the third game it was all Lawson State. The Cougars jumped out to an early 15-7. The Lady Tornadoes would storm back but their come back attempt would fall short as they lost the game 25-21.
“We played well all night,” Lawson State head coach Aubrey Wiley said. “We had some errors the first two games and Apiffany Richards was killing us all night on the kill. In the third set we just put it together and came out and played hard.”
“We got behind early,” Williams said. “A couple of bad passes and it was hard for us to get over that hunt. Once we finished that game I knew they were going to come back and win the next one.”
TC regained momentum in the fourth game as they cruised to a 25-14 victory. At one point in the fourth game the Lady Tornadoes scored 10 straight points to give them a 21-8 lead.
“It reminded me of our first game when we went to five (games),” Williams said. “I think they knew that they did not want to get back on the line and run after this match.”
Williams was not pleased with the Lady Tornadoes errors in their serving game. TC committed five errors on the night.
“Miss serves, they are called basically free points,” Williams said. “There is no way that you should attempt to hit the ball in the net. So when you go back there to serve you need to take your time and concentrate to get it over.”
Richards would close the game for the Lady Tornadoes with one of 13 kills on the night.
Jessica Futrell led TC with 15 kills and 21 digs. Richards recorded 13 kills and 23 digs while freshman Gabrielle Powell recorded 10 kills and a game high 26 digs.
“She (Apiffany Richards) did an outstanding job,” Williams said. “I was definitely proud of Jessica Futrell. She is an outstanding player all the way around. She is a well-rounded good player. Gabrielle (Powell) out of Bessemer worked well together, but it is all about communication.”
The Lady Tornadoes will host Pensacola Christian College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
