Boyd shut down in straight sets
Madi Noll gets prepared on the back row of the Boyd defense Monday night.
The dress rehearsals were over, but the jitters still seemed to linger with the Boyd Lady Broncos in their season debut Monday night at J.K. Stanley Gymnasium.
Boyd fell to TSIAA rival Franklin Road Christian in straight sets, 25-13, 25-9 and 25-9, on an opening night the Lady Broncos will likely want to quickly put behind them.
The biggest memory of the first set turned out to be a lengthy stoppage to discuss the rotation, with transcription issues from the sidelines to the official book causing a long review after the Lady Minutemen had already built an 11-2 lead.
It turned out to be a microcosm of the whole night for the Lady Broncos. There were moments when everything seemed to click, but there were also long stretches when nobody seemed to be on the same page.
For first-year coach Emily Davis, some of that came down to her young team getting comfortable in a different environment. Boyd had already played four matches at the Tree City Invitational and traveled to Gatlinburg for the Attack at the Rock tournament during the preseason, but Monday was different. It was the first one that counted and the first time Davis led the Lady Broncos in front of their home crowd.
"Well, they kind of got the jitters out and first-game nerves out of the way," said Davis. "First home game - it's a little different. They came in, they started getting more comfortable (late in the first set) and I told them that same team better go out there and play the next set, and they did."
Madi Noll provided one of the early sparks, putting together a stretch at the service line in the opening set that briefly ignited Boyd and a packed crowd inside a steamy J.K. Stanley Gymnasium. For most of the night, however, Franklin Road controlled the tempo.
The Lady Minutemen consistently put pressure on Boyd with their serves, keeping the Lady Broncos from comfortably getting into their offense. When Franklin Road was able to attack, its swings seemed to continually find spots just beyond Boyd's block or outside the reach of the back row.
That's the first piece Davis knows has to improve.
"If we can ever get that first ball up. Serve-receive isn't looking too hot right now, I have to say," said Davis. "But if they can just get that out of their way, get out of their heads, and they can set it up and get a swing, then normally we do pretty good."
Monday did at least give Boyd its first opportunity to see its projected lineup together in uniform. Kariana Ferrell returned at setter after missing the Tree City Invitational, while Elly Schoolfield was also back and able to make the full trip around the rotation.
Brit Ralph continued to be one of the steadying presences for a roster featuring several players still adjusting to varsity volleyball, while Noll provided some flashes at the net and from the service line.
There were also stretches in the second and third sets when Boyd was able to get the first ball up, keep rallies alive and give Ferrell an opportunity to set up an attack. Those sequences didn't happen consistently enough to threaten Franklin Road, but they gave Davis something tangible to build on.
That's largely where Boyd finds itself early in Davis' tenure. With three players who entered the preseason having never played volleyball and several others taking on much larger roles than a year ago, the Lady Broncos are going to have to build piece by piece. Davis' message Monday was to make sure one mistake doesn't become three.
"I have to remind them, ‘Get out of your head.’ I mean, it's a game full of mistakes. That's literally what it's built around," said Davis. "They just got to learn it's OK to make a mistake - Just if you make it once, you make it twice, fix it on the third one. I mean, that's all we can do."
Boyd won't have much time to dwell on its opening-night loss. The Lady Broncos are back on the court Tuesday night, traveling to face Lancaster Christian at 7 p.m. before returning home Thursday to face Riverside Christian at 6 p.m.
