Sequoyah's Quinn Strickland makes a play during the Lady Chiefs' 3-1 loss to Loudon on Sept. 8 in Madisonville.

Sequoyah's Sophie Fry makes a play during the Lady Chiefs' 3-1 loss to Loudon on Sept. 8 in Madisonville.

Sequoyah's Quinn Strickland makes a play during the Lady Chiefs' 3-1 loss to Loudon on Sept. 8 in Madisonville.

Sequoyah's Sophie Fry makes a play during the Lady Chiefs' 3-1 loss to Loudon on Sept. 8 in Madisonville.

Sequoyah volleyball moved to 1-1 in District 5-AA when it capped off its long drive to Kingston, beating the Lady Yellow Jackets in four sets.

The Lady Chiefs (5-5) took a two-set advantage before the penultimate third game. A dominant 25-13 performance in the fourth clinched the night over a Kingston team that eliminated Sequoyah in last year’s District 5-AA quarterfinal at Alcoa.

“It was a huge win for us and it was kind of a boost for the girls to know that all the work is making progress,” Sequoyah coach Rebekah Monhollen said. “We even had a rotation we never practiced that we never played last night, so it ended up working out really well.”

Sequoyah continued in a 5-1 shape that saw senior Sophia Graves cover much of the floor, but personnel changes were made following last week’s loss at Alcoa.

Alicia Kimble moved to be the front middle with Kaiti Johnson going to the back and outside. Paisley Lane, who has seen a lot of time as a front middle, was moved to the back row.

“It worked well,” Monhollen said. “Paisley played really well and Alicia came up in the middle playing it for the first time. They did well with it.”

Sequoyah battled in the first set and took the advantage with a 25-19 lead.

“I am very impressed with them and I am very excited. That is one thing that I was really hoping we would have this year, even with smaller numbers, was (versatility),” Monhollen said. “I know that I can almost put these girls anywhere. They can play the ball and they can work well no matter what changes have to be made.”

Injuries have caused a lot of movement in the squad, similar to last season, but the 2022 Lady Chiefs are navigating the waters smoothly this go around, taking advantage of the opportunities instead of seeing them as setbacks.

“I think part of it is the team chemistry. We don’t have as much of a divide on varsity this year - the girls get along and the team leadership is strong,” Monhollen added. “The girls trust each other and they trust their positions a little more. Rather than trying to beat another girl out, they are a little more focused on the team aspect of volleyball.”

A plus for Sequoyah is the number of hitters that come to the net. While Graves has to be more familiar with the style of more teammates, the diversity in attack lets Sequoyah approach each point and set differently.

“Sophia was doing a really good job at moving the ball. A lot of time in volleyball you have to go to the same hitter because she is the one that will dominate. Thankfully, we don’t have that right now; we have so many girls that can hit the ball and place the ball very well,” Monhollen said. “It is revealing some of the holes so, rather than going in for a strong hit, they are going in for a strong placement and hitting it into a hole.”

Sequoyah held a 2-0 lead after the second set tilted their way 25-15.

“We just kind of had to dig deep to win that first set with the new rotation. It was a hot gym, any time you are in a new spot you are trying to find that chemistry,” Monhollen said. “Once it kind of clicked it went really well. We kind of dropped it in that third game, but they were also just so hot and tired.”

Johnson was Sequoyah’s strongest server on the night with Quinn Strickland helping out on the back row. Natalia Shank came off the bench in the decisive fourth set with a strong performance while Sophie Fry turned into another hitting option for the Lady Chiefs.

Kingston pushed back in the third (21-25), cutting Sequoyah’s advantage in half before the Lady Chiefs won the final bout 25-13.

“It was a very hot game. I was just reminding the girls that we did not want to play a fifth game,” Monhollen said. “I know we were tired and I know we were hot, but you have to talk more when you are tired.”

Email: noah.houck@advocateanddemocrat.com

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