“Close” has been something that has defined the Eupora Lady Eagles in volleyball this season, but the team is tired of it.
In losses to Choctaw County and Nanih Waiya in the last two matches, the Lady Eagles were in position to win the matches but came up short. On Sept. 27, things were trending that way again after archrival East Webster got an early lead.
Down 2-0 in the match, the Lady Eagles battled back to force a decisive fifth set and overcame a six-point deficit to come back and take the win. The 3-2 victory was a culmination of hard work from the Lady Eagles, and they finally got over the hump.
“All season and even last year, we put our heads down, our body language is bad, and we’re defeated. I’ve been telling them that when they’re down, they’ve got to keep fighting,” coach Cody Ramer said. “I told them that we’ve still got a chance to go to postseason. We’ve seen the fight against teams like Nanih Waiya, and if we could match that energy, we could win (vs. East Webster). That’s on them and is huge for them. I’m proud.”
Many teams would have folded in the match a few times, but the Lady Eagles have been used to fighting until the final point all year long. It hasn’t always translated to wins, but Eupora has never had an issue with effort and that continued last Tuesday night.
The Lady Wolverines took the first two competitive sets to start the match 2-0. It was disappointing for the Lady Eagles because the team had leads in both sets, but they kept battling.
Eupora came out in set three and had an 11-7 lead. Though EWHS came back and got the lead, Eupora would get back in front and take the 25-20 victory to stay alive. A back-and-forth fourth set made for a fun run. Eupora went up 11-7 once again, and then things got even more competitive. Leading 22-18, Eupora lost that lead as EWHS stormed back and the two squads traded points before Eupora would get the final two on a service error and a hit out of bounds for the 27-25 win.
The fifth set started out deflating for the home team. EWHS jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but the seniors were offering words of encouragement to each other not to panic. That’s when a strong push came from the Lady Eagles as they battled to tie it at 10-10. Ultimately, it would be two final points again that would win it for Eupora, and it led to a celebration for the team.
On Thursday, the two teams went back to work with EWHS taking on Choctaw County. The Lady Wolverines knocked off the Chargers 3-1 to lock up the No. 2 seed in the district and improve to 15-6 with a 4-2 district mark. The Lady Wolverines play four non-conference games this week, having played on the road at Grenada on Monday and Smithville at home on Tuesday. They will host Hamilton on Thursday and Potts Camp on Saturday to close things out.
Eupora fell to 6-9 on the year and 1-4 after losing 3-0 to Nanih Waiya, and the Lady Eagles will take on CCHS in the final district match of the season on Tuesday night. They’ll close out the year by playing at home on Thursday against Winona.
While the playoff situation is murky for the Lady Eagles, it meant a lot to Ramer to see his team play well against the rivals from EWHS and have a great moment for his seniors.
“It’s huge. This district is close in skill level and competitiveness, and this is a huge win for the program. We’ve been here for three years as a program and have never been able to get over that hump,” Ramer said. “That energy should give us a lift the rest of the season. I’ve got high hopes for our younger girls, and I think that (Tuesday) gives them some hope going into next year.”
