A trip to the playoffs was on the line Oct. 4 at Ty Cobb Gymnasium in Ackerman, and it was a Highway 9 battle with Choctaw County and Eupora.
Because CCHS knocked off the Lady Eagles 3-1 a couple of weeks ago, Eupora was going to have to win the match in straight sets. That was sealed in the opening set as CCHS won, but Eupora never gave in during a competitive back and forth that ended with the Lady Chargers taking another 3-1 victory over their rival.
Eupora never could fully get over the hump and coach Cody Ramer thought an early injury to the foot area for Maddie McMullan was a big reason for it. McMullan tried to tough out the injury but would ultimately sit the rest of the match out icing her foot.
“I had a starter get hurt and that hit our mentality. We knew that we had to win in three (sets), and when we lost that first set I think it hit us,” Ramer said. “I told them that we have to win no matter what. We showed up the third set and played really hard. Our ninth-graders came in and got some really good minutes, and that’s a positive that I can take.”
The first two sets were frustrating for the Lady Eagles. The team had leads in both but couldn’t finish either set in what would be a 25-23 loss both times. The opening frame saw Eupora come from behind and close what was a six-point lead down to one at 24-23, but a service error ended the set and Eupora’s chance to make the playoffs.
A similar second set transpired for Eupora. The Lady Eagles got down 9-3 only to roar back and take an 18-16 lead. But Eupora couldn’t ride that momentum as the Lady Chargers bounced back and took a 23-21 advantage. They would also take that one 25-23 as Kami Beard spiked a ball over the net to finish that.
Eupora had a strong third set. The Lady Eagles took a 5-4 disadvantage and turned it into a lead with eight-straight points pushing things out to 12-5. They would win 25-17 to get the first win of the match.
The Lady Eagles were pushing hard to force a decisive fifth set in the next frame. But tied at 15, CCHS got a kill from Jalia James that would give the Lady Chargers a lead. It was relatively close the rest of the way, but CCHS would win 25-20 to take the match.
Eupora got to go out on a high note on Thursday night. In a straight-sets victory, Eupora knocked off the Lady Tigers 25-15, 25-20 and 25-12. The team had a chance to honor seniors Neelie Dillinger, Aubree Mason, Macey Ray, Ally Bingham, Mackenzie Reed-Wood and Harper Doggett as the group went out on top.
The Lady Eagles finished the season 6-10 with a 1-5 mark in district play.
