There have been some good moments for East Webster on the volleyball court this year, but one area that Dallas McCracken has wanted to improve is getting faster starts.
The Lady Wolverines didn’t get off to a good one earlier last week against Ethel before rebounding and getting the 3-0 win. Last Thursday, the start wasn’t an issue.
EWHS scored 14 of the first 15 points in the opening set against Houston at home on Thursday, and it led to an early blowout win. Two sets later, the Lady Wolverines had a match that lasted less than 45 minutes and won 3-0 to sweep the Lady Hilltoppers.
“We’ve had trouble starting. We get down early,” McCracken said. “We’ve played them before, so we knew what to expect, but I told them we needed to get ahead from the get-go. The key was getting off to that great start.”
It was easy work for a young EWHS team on Thursday to move to 5-3 on the season. In set one, the Lady Wolverines raced out to a 14-1 lead. Houston would cut into it a bit as the Lady Wolverines had a bit of a lull, but EWHS would end up pulling it out 25-11.
After rolling Houston 25-9 in set two, the third set was a little closer early, but EWHS took control of that as well and won 25-13 to finish it.
With no seniors on the team, McCracken has been bringing along six juniors, six sophomores, and six freshmen to do all the work.
She said the players shouldn’t be taken lightly just because of the youth, however. A lot of hard work in the offseason has led to some rewards on the court with wins so far. There are tough teams down the road, but the coach likes the way her team is playing.
“They have really developed in the offseason this year. When basketball was over, we started practicing in March in 7th period. It’s fun to see kids really get better. They’ve gotten a whole lot better from where we were last year. We’ve been stepping it up from year one to year two and three. They’re picking up where they’re hitting and what they’re calling,” McCracken said.
She continued, “They’re reading where they used to just react. We’re playing well, but our schedule is about to really pick up.”
Next up for the Lady Wolverines is going to be a tough road trip to Louisville on Tuesday. EWHS will take on Winston Academy on Tuesday, a team that it has lost to the last two seasons.
