By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

CENTRE – Since last week’s Cherokee County Tournament, the Cherokee County Lady Warriors have been playing some of their best volleyball of the season.

A change in their rotation has resulted in them winning five of their last six matches, including Monday night’s victories over Spring Garden and Hokes Bluff on senior night for outside hitter Ava Haygood.

In a rematch of last week’s Cherokee County Tournament final, the Lady Warriors defeated Spring Garden 25-13 in the first set and rallied from eight points down in the second to earn a 27-25 victory.

Cherokee County also rallied from a six-point deficit in the first set against Hokes Bluff to take a 25-23 decision, then held off the Lady Eagles in the second set 25-22.

“We’ve come so far,” Haygood said. “We’ve changed our rotation a couple of times because we couldn’t find anything that was right. It just seemed like everything we were doing wasn’t right. We couldn’t find what was wrong, so we changed it up about a week ago.

“Mattie (Green) is setting and Sydni (Frost) is playing libero. We ran that at the county tournament and we played really good. I think this is what we’ve been trying to find.”

And it couldn’t come at a better time for the Lady Warriors (29-12), especially with the area tournament on the horizon next week.

“You’ve just got to be patient and wait it out,” Cherokee County head coach Tiffany Rieger said. “I try to instill that in them and just keep telling them to do what you know is right, trust your training and eventually it will go your way.

“We came out a little flat (in both matches Monday). Things weren’t going our way, but we just had to play through it. That’s a little more mental toughness, which is good to see since the beginning of the season. I don’t know if we could’ve done that earlier on. If we would’ve dug ourselves a hole we would’ve stayed there. That’s a good thing to see here in October.”

Haygood led the Lady Warriors against Spring Garden with 14 kills, 10 digs, an ace and an assist. Jolie Alexander added 10 kills, four digs and three aces. Green contributed 24 assists and an ace.

Taniya Fife delivered six digs, two kills, a block and an ace. Harleigh Henry had four digs, a kill, an ace and an assist. Sydni Frost posted six digs and Anna Morris finished with a dig.

Against Hokes Bluff, Haygood came away with 14 kills, seven digs, an ace and an assist. Alexander accumulated six kills, six aces, five digs and a block. Green managed 19 assists, five digs and a block.

Henry accounted for two aces, a kill and an assist. Fife finished with seven digs, two kills, a block, an ace and an assist.

Rieger was glad the Lady Warriors were able to send Haygood out a winner on her senior night.

“Ava is obviously special,” Rieger said. “She’s been a big part of this program. She was a big part of the state championship team. She’s a leader out here. She’s come through for us in a lot of situations. She’s one we can rely on to put the ball away, get the ball up on defense. The numbers she puts up surprise everybody except us because we know she can do it.”

Kylie Bates came away with three kills and two assists for Spring Garden (18-15). Aubrey Kelley contributed six digs and two kills. Lleyton Carroll posted seven digs and seven assists. Addie Word added two kills and two digs.

Maya Jennings came away with a pair of kills. Gracie Simpson gained five digs. Hayden Parris had a dig. Lacie Jo McMurray managed an ace and Addie Smith finished with an assist.

Spring Garden also lost to Hokes Bluff 17-25 and 16-25.

In that match, Kelley collected six kills and three digs. Word earned two kills, a dig and an ace. Carroll collected 10 assists and two digs. McMurray posted 10 digs.

Bates managed two kills. Smith delivered five digs. Simpson contributed four digs and an ace. Anna Mae Griggs finished with a pair of aces.