SAND ROCK – Sand Rock senior setter McKenna Ballenger isn’t concerned with setting personal records. She has one goal at the end of this volleyball season.
“All I’ve thought about is I want a ring on my finger. I want to go somewhere. I want to be able to skip school someday. That would be nice,” Ballenger said, shortly after the Lady Wildcats swept a home tri-match with Cedar Bluff and Fyffe on Monday. “I know with our team chemistry and how athletic we are, we can really go somewhere.”
The Lady Wildcats seemingly keep proving that they are going somewhere every time they step foot out on the court. They wasted little time in taking both their Monday matches, earning a 25-9, 25-13 decision against Cedar Bluff, and claiming a 25-18, 25-14 victory over Fyffe in the nightcap to improve to 37-6 on the season.
Ballenger delivered 40 assists and now has 1,031 for the season. Katelyn St. Clair contributed 14 kills and seven aces. Lanie Henderson collected 14 kills and three blocks. Jacey Stephens added nine kills and a pair of blocks. Chloe Stephens came away with 14 digs, three kills, and three aces. Jadyn Foster posted 12 digs and three kills. Rylin St. Clair had four kills, and Caley Garrett finished with 20 digs.
Sand Rock coach Lisa Bates said this year’s team has made things easy on her from a coaching perspective.
“It’s nice to know they’re going to give it their all,” she said. “With this group, I don’t have to pull teeth to get them to play or get them to talk to each other or to go after balls. If we let one fall that we don’t go after, it’s like we make up for it. It’s easier on a coach when you know they’re going to give it their all and they’re going to work together and hustle. I’m not having to be a cheerleader. Some years I feel like I have to be a cheerleader to get them to play their best, but this group is doing that on their own. They get it. It’s fun. I’m excited about what we can do.”
And it all begins with Ballenger.
“She’s a tremendous setter,” Bates said. “She just does things that are special, that would be tough for other people to get out to our hitters. She gets it there. I’m pleased for her to get some recognition this year. She hasn’t always gotten the recognition in volleyball she deserves. She’s really turned it on this year.”
Ballenger said it’s taken a lot of hard work to get where she’s gotten.
“In the seventh grade, I had an elbow injury and I couldn’t straighten out one of my elbows, and I had doubles (hits) all the time,” she said. “I really wanted to be good when I got older. I knew I could not jump, so I knew I was not going to hit. Caley was already a good enough passer, and we had other passers, so I knew I wanted to set. My hands have gotten better over the past few years. I’ve started getting better at jump setting. Every time the ball gets close, I don’t want to have to get it out of the net with my forearms every time. I want to give it every chance to let Lanie or anybody else hit better.”
Ballenger also said she’s blessed to be surrounded by good hitters.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it without my hitters,” she said. “They’re so good at hitting. They’re so good at putting it away. They know where I’m going to place it every single time. We just have very good chemistry.”
Sand Rock travels to Cherokee County High School Tuesday afternoon for a tri-match with Hokes Bluff.
In its loss to Sand Rock, Maggie Clowdis led Cedar Bluff with four kills and four digs. Mattie Payne posted six digs. Rylie Walker added seven assists and a pair of digs. Haley Allen came away with two digs and a kill. Emma Haney had two kills. Kindal Grace and Natalie Baty both had a kill and a dig. Lacie Roer contributed a kill and Jordyn Walker finished with a dig.
The Lady Tigers (22-21) also suffered a 25-9, 25-15 setback to Fyffe. In that match, Haney posted eight digs and two kills. Payne came away with six digs. Jordyn Walker contributed seven digs and a kill. Clowdis collected five digs and a kill. Rylie Walker managed six assists. Grace had a kill and a dig. Baty and Benton both had two digs. Allen added a dig, and Caley Bruce finished with a kill.
“Tonight was a very frustrating night. We couldn’t do anything,” Cedar Bluff coach Lyndsey Barker Mullins said. “We stayed close the first six points, then the wheels fell off. That’s been the storyline with us all year. The key to our game is keeping the ball up off the floor, and we didn’t do that tonight.”
Cedar Bluff hosts a tri-match with Gadsden City and Spring Garden on Tuesday.