After picking up a win on Tuesday night, Swain County volleyball is on a two-game winning streak to bounce back from a five-match skid that spanned Nov. 24-Dec. 8. Swain topped Cherokee on Thursday and Andrews on Tuesday to push the Lady Devils’ overall record to 4-5 on the season.
Complicating Tuesday’s match was the fact that Swain was without three of its usual starters. Coach Kayla McMahan went to her JV roster and pulled sophomores Madison Spates, Amaya Hicks, and Haileigh Woodard up to compete with the varsity.
“They did awesome,” McMahan said of the sophomore trio following the win on Tuesday. “We couldn’t have asked for a better effort, mentality or attitude from them.”
She said the emergence of the underclassmen will give her team added depth as it pushes toward its goal of winning all of the remaining games on the schedule.
“It will do wonders for us,” McMahan said. “They can keep learning and they have that experience now, which helps their mentality toward the game at a high pace.”
Swain swept Andrews in the first matchup between the two team on Nov. 19, while Tuesday’s match went all the way to a fifth set. Along with missing three of her starters, McMahan said Andrews was also much improved in the rematch.
“They were very scrappy,” she explained. “They play a lot of balls out, so you can never expect the ball to hit the floor. You always have to be ready.”
Swain will host Rosman tonight, Thursday, Dec. 17 in its last match before the Christmas holiday. The Lady Devils lost 0-3 at Rosman on Nov. 24.
Many of the Swain girls continue to juggle responsibilities with both the volleyball and basketball teams in the compacted 2020-2021 athletic calendar, but Coach McMahan said her players are managing the balance with grace and will be ready to make the final push toward postseason play.
“They are doing a great job of funneling each sport,” she said. “When they come in for volleyball they are doing a great job of focusing for volleyball, and when they come in for basketball they are doing a great job of focusing for basketball.”