By Chuck Reherman
Sports Editor
MOORE – It was a match that was suppose to go Yukon’s way.
But, two games and two practices after a 14-day layoff can have an effect on a team.
It did affect the Millerettes Thursday night as YHS dropped a 3-1 match to Southmoore on the Lady Sabercats’ home court.
Southmoore had come into the match with only two wins on the season, but took advantage of Millerette miss hits, unforced errors and a tough night serving to win the match.
The Lady Sabercats won 25-19, 21-25, 25-23 and 25-18 to pull off the upset over the Millerettes.
“There haven’t been many that has gone like they are suppose to go,” Millerette coach Rachel Allred said. “Like I told the girls after, I still feel like we are in a funk after we got off that Moore game. The Moore game felt funky and yesterday’s practice felt funky because we had just the one game this week.
“So now we are back in the swing of things full speed ahead,” she said. “Obviously we are going to be thrown off being off 14 days and only getting two practices and two games. We don’t have that excuse anymore, because we go straight into three of four games a week all the way to the playoffs. So we have no time to waste, no time to mess around or think in the back of our mind that it is our excuse, there is no more of that.”
The Millerettes were off on their service game in the match, getting just over 60-percent of their serves in. YHS also let too many Sabercat serves fall in for aces and sent to many balls out of bounds.
“The first game we couldn’t get any pressure on the ball,” Allred said. “We sent over a lot free balls, our receive was tight at the nets and then when we got it off the nets, we weren’t ready for the set. They were able to hit more because we didn’t put any pressure on the ball.
“We weren’t getting them out of their system enough and that allowed for them to swing away all night,” she said. “The block was there sometimes and others we weren’t really ready for it. Southmoore runs a really quick offense, so it was a challenge for those blockers to move fast for the set. That pushed us all night.
“They definitely were a better team than they have had, they run that quick offense and have more options hitting wise than they have had for sure.”
The Millerettes did look like in the fourth set they would rally to tie the match 2-2, taking a 3-0 lead early. Southmoore came back to tie things up 4-4, then took a 9-6 lead and expanded it to 16-10.
YHS cut the margin to 17-16 on an ace from Libbie Hughs. Southmoore scored the next three points, 20-16, then after YHS cut the lead to 21-18, the Lady ‘Cats scored the final four points to take the 25-21 win.
The Millerettes, after dropping the first set 25-19, came back to win the second 25-21 and was looking to turn the match around.
The Millerettes had taken the early lead and after the teams went back and forth, YHS pulled out to a 16-9 lead on kills from Addy Wimmer, Rachel Kittell, Katelyn Biswell and an ace from Kaylee Coleman.
YHS expanded the lead to 19-11 before Southmoore reeled off six straight. Kills from Taya McReynolds and Kittell put the set away 25-21.
The Millerettes also had their chances in the third set after McReynolds had a kill to tie 21-21. Katie Clark had a pair of kills to make it 24-23, but Southmoore scored to put the set away, 25-23.
“We let some serves drop in and that was when we get down or close we get anxious for someone to help and then we get quiet and don’t have the communication.
“We knew these two games were going to be rough and the funkiness that we have had the last three weeks is over and we have no more time to waste.”
