Oakwood vs Westwood...the Volleyball Trilogy

OHS Lady Panther Felicia Williams goes head to head with WHS Lady Panther Marialle Boles. Photo by Melissa Missildine Sometimes, Life throws you hurdles and to get past them, you have to make changes. There has been a lot of that going on in Oakwood recently. With the death of football coach Steve Davis right before the start of the new school year, schedules had to be changed across the board. Even the girls varsity volleyball team had to cancel their first game of the season and make changes to the rest of the season's schedule. They played against Buffalo two weeks ago, which is not the norm. Then they would go on to play Westwood three times in a row! Very unusual.

First, the OHS Lady Panthers traveled to Westwood for a two-day tournament. They won the first two games on Friday against Frankston and Westwood. Not a bad way to start things off! The third game was a loss to Crockett. According to Head Coach Stephanie Lucio, "It was bad. We didn't even make it to the double digits. Although they are a 3A school, what can we say?" Saturday, they played Crockett again. Lucio said, "We did awesome! It was like a whole different team out there. I mean, they were all hustling, hitting the floor hard, great serving, and fantastic digs! We won a match against them. So that was a great comeback for us. We lost the next two matches but it was pretty close." Lucio also said that "Felicia [Williams] and Christina [Hudson] did an awesome job leading the team. They had some great serves, blocks, and digs. We are working our JV from last year now. Felicia and Christina really have to work that front row! Block, turn around to hit, dig, and block again. This is pretty much what they are doing all the way across the net. We are really trying to get some of these JV girls to step up. With each game we are learning and hopefully, with time, it will get better."

Nakethia (YoYo) Crenshaw digs deep to save the ball. Photo by Melissa Missildine The OHS Lady Panthers then traveled back to Westwood on Tuesday. Lucio did not see the improvement she had hoped for. The OHS girls went home giving a solid win to the Westwood Lady Panthers.

On Friday, a change seemed to come over the OHS Lady Panthers. There was a fire in their eyes and thirst for the game. This was a fierce battle to the end. In the first set, Westwood leaped ahead with a score of 25-10. WHS barely scrapped out the win on the second set with 25-22. Although out- numbered, and with less experienced players, Oakwood was volleying that ball like nobody's business! It was a truly exciting game. The last set was neck-andneck all the way through with the Westwood Lady Panthers taking the game, 25-21.

In this game, the Oakwood girls played like a wellseasoned team. Nakethia (YoYo) Crenshaw, Shametris (Mee Mee) Owens, Ashley Owens and Whitney Hicks really stepped up their game and helped to cover the floor. They were holding their own against the veteran players. Crenshaw, Hicks, and Ashley each had 4 really great digs in this game. Mee Mee had 3 digs and 3 services aces! Heather Lancaster helped her team out with a dig as well. Felicia Williams led the team in digs with a total of 11! She had a pretty awesome block too. Christina Hudson had one of the best kills of the night to go along with the 3 digs and the block she got.

Lucio said she was really impressed with the drastic improvement her girls had made in just a week's time. Apparently, so was Assistant Volleyball Coach Dunn. He commented about Mee Mee's performance, "I think Mee Mee is after a starting position." The smile on his face when he said it would make you think that is a very good possibility.

The Oakwood Lady Panthers will play at home against neighboring Buffalo again this Tuesday at 4:30. It will be exciting to see how this re-match plays out.