Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Greenville High School volleyball team started well in their season opener against Troy. The first two sets were close, but couldn’t get a set win. The Lady Wave were swept by Troy at home on Aug. 23.

Troy won the first set 25-20. Greenville had a 15-10 lead when Troy called a timeout. Then Troy went on a seven point run to claim the lead and went on to win the set.

The second set was similar, but Troy controlled most of it. Greenville had a very early lead and then would trail the rest of the set. Troy won the second set 25-19.

Head coach Michelle Hardesty said she was happy with the play at the start of the game. The level of play her team was at against Troy was something she hasn’t seen in a while.

“We’ve not been able to play a Troy team as well as we did tonight in the last four years,” Hardesty said. “Now granted, they (Troy) graduated some very talented people, but they’re also bringing on some talented people as well.”

The third set was a different story as Troy cruised to a 25-7 set win.

It was a good showing for this young team. Hardesty said the team only has three players with varsity experience. The rest came from junior varsity or some came straight from the eighth grade team.

The youth led the team on the stat sheet. Sophomore Brooke Schmidt led the team with nine kills. Freshman Kyndall Burke was second with five. Sophomore Shyanne Gibboney had 20 digs.

Hardesty said this is a good starting point for the team. The team should improve with more game experience.

“We’ve struggled with some things in practice this last week, and I think it clicked,” Hardesty said. “I’m pleased with where we’re starting. We can only go up from here.”

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]