News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2009

VOLLEYBALL COMETS LOSE TWO

After a long stretch on the road, the Cottey Comets volleyball team got to play a pair in front of a friendly crowd at Hinkhouse Gymnasium for Family Weekend. Unfortunately, the Comets' woes continued as they lost on Friday to Ozark Christian College 13-25, 16-25, and 15-25. On Saturday they played a spirited match against Stephens College, but fell in four games 13-25, 18-25, 25-21, and 19-25.

On Friday, Ozark had little trouble dispatching the short-handed and injured Comets. In the first two games, the Lady Ambassadors jumped out to an early lead and pulled away. In the third game, the Comets showed a bit of a spark early, leading 4-3, but couldn't maintain the effort as Ozark grabbed the win and the second sweep over Cottey this season.

Team leaders for Cottey against OCC were Natalie Larsen with 11 assists, Taylor Means with 15 digs and four kills, and Amanda Taylor with three blocks and four kills.

On Saturday, a packed Hinkhouse must have had some effect on the Comets as students, family members, and area fans brought their flags, face paint, noisemakers, and even a trumpet to fire up the team. It didn't help in the first game as the visitors rolled to an easy 13-25 win. But from that point on, it was one motivated Comets team giving the taller Stars with the deeper bench all they could handle.

"I can't even begin to say how wonderful the team spirit was in Hinkhouse gym this weekend, especially Saturday," said head coach Marla Kannady Foreman. "My players sensed the fact that their fans would get extremely excited whenever the Comets team would make a point, regardless of the score. In games one and two we got down by a few points, and you wouldn't know we were losing the game by the fans and their cheering."

In the second game, the Comets kept the score tied at seven, eight, and nine, before grabbing their first lead at 10-9. They led by three at 12-9 before the Stars were able to tie the game back at 12. Stephens was able to outscore the Comets 1-3 to get the lead back for good at 13-15. Although the Comets fought valiantly, they made a couple of critical errors late in the game that prevented them from closing the gap.

Down two games to none, it would have been easy for the Comets to give up, but if anything, they dialed it up a notch and played arguably their best game of the season as they were almost flawless on the attack, grabbing a quick 6-3 lead. Give Stephens credit, they hung close and the Comets never could really distance themselves from the Stars, but the Comets held the lead all the way to the finish. An ace by Janelle Crowell to seal the game had the crowd going wild.

"This motivation to give the fans something to watch, and the fact that my team does not let up for anything, we got the win for game three," said Foreman. "My players had it in their head after game two that they were going to take it in five."

The crowd was thinking the same thing, especially when the Comets scored the first two points of game four. Stephens took back the lead at 2-3, but Cottey tied the game at three and at four before regaining the lead at 5-4. Cottey extended the lead to 9-5, but the taller Stephens front line proved to be a handful for the smaller Comets. The Stars had a 6'3" middle hitter and a 5'11" middle blocker who were fierce. Stephens was able to tie the game at nine; Cottey grabbed a one-point lead at 10-9; Stephens tied the game at 10.

It still looked as though this was anyone's game, but the deep Stephens bench began to wear down the Comets. The visitors grabbed a four-point lead at 10-14 when Cottey called a time out. After the break, Stephens scored the next three points to build a commanding 10-17 lead. Cottey played even with the Stars from that point on, but never could overcome the gap.

Although this went in the record books as a loss, Foreman thought this was one of the best matches her team has played.

"After the match, when I was giving them my talk, I told the team they could stick the loss in whatever column they wanted to on that match, because I was going to go home feeling really good about their determination, heart, hustle, and fight for the night," said Foreman. "They are like the energizer bunnies. My players could give up at any time, because of their record, but they refuse to give in during a match. They may go down in a match, but they are going to put up a good fight before they are defeated."

The loss dropped the Comets to 1-11 on the season. Their next home match is on Wednesday, October 7, at 7 p.m. against Longview Community College.