Be it the aftereffects of Tuesday’s trip to Avery, the distractions of Homecoming week or something else, one thing seemed certain Wednesday for Polk County’s volleyball squad.
The Wolverines were not at their sharpest.
That proved a problem against a good Landrum squad that left Polk County with a 3-1 victory, taking a 25-21, 18-25, 25-22, 25-19 victory over the Wolverines in the latest non-conference clash between the Thermal Belt squads.
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Make no mistake – the Cardinals (15-7-2) played well. Senior hitter Halie Cantrell led a Landrum front line that caused issues all night for Polk County (8-4), the Cardinals effectively blocking Polk attacks to prolong points and set the stage for their own hitting.
Yet, for a time, it looked as if Polk, riding a five-match winning streak coming into the evening, would overcome that as well as the fatigue from Tuesday’s five-set win and late-night return. The Wolverines rallied from an opening-set loss, jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the second set and never trailed, taking that stanza 25-18.
The pattern seemed set to repeat in the third set as Polk raced to a 10-1 advantage. But that’s when things changed – Landrum began to steadily slice into that margin, eventually evening the score. With the teams tied at 21, Cantrell delivered a kill that sparked a small run, moving the Cardinals to set point.
A Reeve Carroll tip halted that spurt, but Cantrell answered with another kill to seal the set.
Landrum grabbed an 11-4 edge to open the fourth set and never led by less than four points in closing out the evening.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but yes, they were tired,” said Polk County head coach Molly Hill. “It’s hard to get home at midnight and then turn around and have to play again and then have to turn around and play again (Thursday at Hendersonville).
“This week is just a tough one, and it’s really testing them. There’s just a lot of other external things, too. And just some unfocused-ness. You could tell that their minds weren’t really in it.”
Akeela Cunningham had 16 kills and 18 digs for Polk County, with Carroll adding 12 kills and 30 digs. Abby Lewis had 19 assists and 13 digs while Charley Dusenbury had 13 assists and 10 digs.
Aslyn Scruggs added nine digs for the Wolverines, who will be battling for second place in the Western Highlands Conference in Thursday’s trip to Hendersonville. The two teams are currently tied for second, both a game behind Owen.
