Lady Pioneers fall to Coffee County
Warren County spent most of Monday night searching for the rhythm that had carried it through a perfect opening week. When the Lady Pioneers finally found it, Coffee County had already built too big of a hole to overcome.
Warren County suffered its first loss of the season in a match viewers could watch live on the Warren County Sports Authority, falling 25-14, 25-14, 25-27 and 25-16 at Coffee County. The Lady Pioneers dropped to 3-1 overall, while remaining 2-0 in District 7-AAA heading into a pair of important district road matches this week.
"Tonight was, in a word, frustrating," said coach Erin Blalock. "We could not get a rhythm going throughout the match. There were glimpses of our team, our true team, but we couldn't get those strung together to gain any sort of momentum."
It was a noticeable change from the team that had opened the season with three straight victories over Cannon County, Wilson Central and LaVergne. Warren County had shown off its depth at the net, gotten steady production from its setters and found ways to sustain rallies during its unbeaten start.
Against Coffee County, those pieces rarely came together at the same time.
Blalock felt the Lady Pioneers entered the match knowing where they could find success against the Lady Raiders. Execution was the problem.
"The reality is they moved the ball around and we did not. We were too predictable and that made it entirely too easy to defend," said Blalock. "It starts with passing, which was not consistent, setting, which wasn't where our hitters needed it a lot of the time, and the net work had way too many mistakes, either in the net or out of play. We gave them too many points and they capitalized on it."
Warren County finally found the version of itself Blalock had been waiting to see in the third set.
Youngblood helped spark the turnaround from the service line as the Lady Pioneers scored the first five points. Natalie Payne helped Warren County maintain its early advantage before Reese Reinitz took over serving and sent the Lady Pioneers on their best run of the night.
Reinitz kept Coffee County guessing by changing speeds on her serves, dropped in an ace and added a well-placed push shot as Warren County stretched its lead to 12-3. For the first time all night, the Lady Pioneers were consistently stringing together the plays needed to build momentum.
Coffee County wasn't going to let the set get away easily.
The Lady Raiders chipped away at what had been a nine-point deficit and eventually pulled within 16-15, forcing Blalock to use a timeout. Warren County steadied itself coming out of the break, with Youngblood soon returning to the service line as the Lady Pioneers pushed their advantage back to 18-15.
Coffee County made another push, but this time Warren County wouldn't let the set slip away. The Lady Pioneers battled through the tight finish to keep the match alive.
"They showed who they really are during most of the third set and fought to keep the match alive," said Blalock. "I was proud that they kept encouraging one another and got that set to go their way."
The breakthrough didn't carry over enough to complete the comeback. Warren County continued battling in the fourth, but the inconsistencies that plagued the Lady Pioneers early returned and Coffee County was able to pull away to finish the match.
Even on a frustrating night offensively, several Lady Pioneers put together productive performances.
Senior Aubrey Oleksik led Warren County with 10 kills and added eight digs. Payne finished with seven kills and three blocks, while Brynlee Chisam and Youngblood had four kills apiece. Elliana Heintz added two blocks.
The back row was busy throughout the night. Ali Young led the Lady Pioneers with 19 digs, while Youngblood added 13. Maelee Turner recorded five digs to go along with 11 assists.
Reinitz finished with a team-high 12 assists and three aces. Young, Turner and Youngblood each served two aces.
Blalock acknowledged the possibility that Warren County's upcoming district schedule may have pulled some attention away from Monday's border battle. The Lady Pioneers have two more road matches this week against district opponents, including a tough trip to Cookeville.
She wasn't interested in using the schedule as an excuse.
"This loss is on me as the coach," said Blalock. "Ultimately, it's my job to have the team ready and we didn't come ready tonight."
After the match, Blalock's message was to learn from Monday without allowing it to linger.
"Feel this one, but move on," said Blalock. "We've got to learn from games like this but we can't dwell on it. We have too many important matches coming up and ultimately Coffee County doesn't determine our postseason. So we are going to refocus. We know Cookeville will be ready so we need to be too."
Warren County travels to take on the Cavaliers Tuesday night, with action set to begin at 6 p.m.
