By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

CEDAR BLUFF – The Spring Garden Lady Panthers and Cedar Bluff Lady Tigers are still in the process of establishing their volleyball identities because of injuries to key players.

Still without senior outside hitter Ace Austin (ankle) on Tuesday night, Spring Garden head coach Ricky Austin felt a little better overall about where his team is. The Lady Panthers swept the best-of-five match 25-16, 25-15 and 25-18.

“It’s been hard,” Austin said. “The last couple of days I’ve seen some things I need to see, the way you finish a match. We had just a couple today that we didn’t finish at the end when we could have and should have. Last week we just wouldn’t finish plays very well and that led us to not finishing sets well, not finishing a match well. We won some, but it was just not satisfying.

“I’ve seen improvement. We’ve got three days off now to practice, so I think we’re right where we need to be for three days of practice. I hope we can keep improving.”

Coach Austin said his daughter is “working hard to rehab” her ankle. She landed awkwardly on her right ankle in a match against Priceville in the Lady Panthers’ first tournament of the season. He said she’s doing two workouts a day and could possibly return in a couple of weeks.

“She’s walking well,” Coach Austin said. “It’s getting stronger. It’s just not ready yet for what all goes on around the net right now. It’s kind of chancy at this point. I don’t think she could play right now, but I think in two weeks we’ll look at it. She’s got an appointment (Wednesday morning) to see where we are.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t want to do too much. There’s a thin line. We want to stay right on that thin line of what’s just right and too much.”

Without Ace Austin, Spring Garden (14-5) cruised through the first two sets before Cedar Bluff (5-5) finally found a spark late in the third. However, the Lady Panthers had already jumped out to a 13-2 advantage before the Lady Tigers began to put things together consistently.

“We waited too late to get the ball rolling,” Cedar Bluff coach Deidra Cox said. “I think Paityn (Walker) came off the bench and gave us a little spark that we needed. She brought some energy out there, but credit to Spring Garden. They’re well disciplined and a very fundamental team. They anticipate very well. They’re where they’re supposed to be. They make the hard plays look easy. They hustle all the time. They just know each other’s role and they’re able to play well together.”

Coach Austin felt the Lady Panthers were in position when Cedar Bluff was making its comeback attempt, but weren’t finishing the play.

“We were in place, but that’s where we are with that lineup. We have a hard time finishing plays,” he said. “(Number) 23 (outside hitter Kindal Grace) did a good job of swinging, but we were not finishing the play. We were giving her the opportunity to continue the play. We were giving them too many free balls and tips and things like that. We made it easy on them.

“That’s where we’ve got to be a little bit more solid as far as being aggressive and not passive, waiting on a team’s mistakes to win a game. I don’t like waiting on mistakes. I want to force it. We weren’t forcing it enough during that stretch. We should’ve been able to make it a little more difficult on them.”

Maggie Jarrett posted 16 kills and 16 digs to lead the Lady Panthers. Avery Steward accumulated 31 assists and two digs for the Lady Panthers. Olivia Law collected five kills, three digs and two blocks. Kristen Lewis came away with 15 digs, two aces and a kill. Montana Highfield had 10 kills and two digs.

Lacie Jo McMurray came away with six digs and an ace. Hollis Jane Petty and Belle Bussler contributed two digs apiece. Chloe Fennell finished with a dig.

Grace and Janaya Higgins led Cedar Bluff with 10 kills apiece. Higgins also had three digs and an assist. Rylie Wallker managed 15 assists, three digs and a kill. Anslee Evans delivered three kills and a block. Blakelea Hall posted four digs and a kill. Paityn Walker finished with a pair of digs.

The Lady Tigers are also playing without a pair of their key players in senior middle Caley Bruce and senior defensive specialist Anna Henderson. Both players were lost on the Lady Tigers’ opening weekend on the same play.

“We’re still kind of filling in pieces, seeing who needs to be where, what rotations work better with who,” Cox said. “The injury bug has hit hard. We’re still piecing things together, but the girls haven’t quit. They want to win. They’re working together. They’re making it work. People are playing positions they’re not comfortable with or used to, but they’re giving it their all. That’s all I can ask of them.”