Tuscola volleyball falls to North Henderson in home opener
Sep. 3—For the first time in the new season, Tuscola volleyball (0-4) played a match at home, falling to North Henderson (4-3) three sets to none Thursday evening. Despite the loss, Mountaineers head coach Amanda Belue said she and her team were excited to get to play in front of their home fans, something they weren't accustomed to a season ago amidst the pandemic.
"The girls were so excited about the student section," Belue said. "They showed up today with big support for us, definitely loud. I think that's a new adjustment for us too, just playing with fans again."
North Henderson took the first set 25-13 but Tuscola came out strong in the second set. The Mounties held a 12-10 lead after a tightly-contested first 22 points. The Knights came back to tie it at 13 apiece before rattling off six straight to take a 19-13 lead, eventually winning the second set 25-17. The Knights came out in the third and won the first four points en route to a 25-14 win to clinch the overall victory.
Belue said the two focal points her team has worked on improving the most early this year are defense and serving. She noticed the work paying off from behind the service line as she thought her team was much more effective in that area Thursday night. She said her team's defense still needs work, but that it's been hard to get into much of a rhythm with the uncertainties COVID causes on a weekly basis.
"We also just had five of our girls in quarantine, so we've gotten that back," Belue said. "There's a lot of curveballs being thrown, but we're excited to get back in the rhythm and I'm super excited about the excitement with this group."
Tuscola senior right-side hitter Hannah Wells led the Mountaineers with five kills and four blocks.
Tuscola is set to travel to East Henderson on Tuesday before hosting Haywood county rival Pisgah on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
