Communication key in SHS volleyball win

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Starkville's Vivian Barksdale sets up a play during Thursday's high school volleyball match. (Photos by Kim Murrell, SDN)

Communication is a big key in most sports.

The Starkville High School volleyball team showed on Thursday night how crucial communication can be.

The Lady Yellowjackets beat the Ackerman Lady Indians 3-0 at the Beehive.
SHS (13-11, 3-0) got off to a good start winning the first set 25-14.

The Lady Jackets talked on every volley.

"It seems like that is a constant that we have – communication on the court," Starkville head coach Lauren Love said. "We do a great job in practice. We will try to extenuate that in certain drills. Just to see it carry over into the match, is what we really need to happen."

For Jamie Huffman and her Lady Indians (7-7, 4-2), the communication was not there, but in their defense, not many people enter the Beehive and come out with a win.

"We were pretty scared coming here," Huffman said. "It's a pretty big school. We are only a 2A, and I knew going into that they were going to be pretty nervous, (and) pretty shaken up.

"The lack of communication did hurt us (Thursday). The jitters is what caused the lack of communication."

The second set started with senior Michaela Mills serving. She got the Lady Jackets off to a quick 11-0 start before the Lady Indians scored a point.

"When she can get her serves in, it's a nice flat hard serve," Love said. "We definitely like to take advantage of that, having her as our first server."

SHS went on to take the second set 25-7.

The Lady Indians came out fired up in the third set. They kept it close and it was tied 4-4 early on.

SHS broke away and took the final set 25-16.

Khris Carr led SHS with eight kills and six aces. April Reese had two kills and eight digs. Courtney Wilson had two kills, four digs and two aces. Mills ended the match with two aces and Vivian Barksdale had five digs.