Lady Tribe dominates Betsy

By Travis Brown
STAR Staff
tbrown@starhq.com

   The Elizabethton Cyclone Lady Volleyball team took it on the chin Monday night, as they squared off against non-conference visitor Dobyns-Bennett in a contest that showcased the dominance of the Kingsport program.
   The contest was all D-B from the outset and despite some flashes of good play by the Lady Cyclones, the onslaught proved to be too much as they surrendered the loss 15-6, and 15-7.
   Elizabethton head coach Leslie Bradley was still upbeat after the loss, "We know we have to be a better passing team," said Bradley "We ran a good offense when we got good passing."
   The first game started off with a scoring barrage from D-B lead by senior Lauren Carrico. Three big kills out of the gate helped the Lady Indians jump out to an early 4-0 lead.
   The Lady Cyclones would get on the board only to have Kelli Depew stroke a pair of aces to put Indians firmly in command. The Indians were leading 13-3 before Elizabethton would again dent the scoreboard.
   Emilee Berry came through with some strong serves, and Casey Kyte added a kill to close the lead down to 7, but the momentum would again shift, and the Lady Indians took the first game by a 15-7 margin.
   Bradley would later comment on the offensive dominance, "We've been troubled by inexperience, its hard to learn how to play at the speed they play at."
   The second game saw the Cyclones open up with a glimmer of hope as they took an early lead, however the door would be slammed shut by a strong service game from D-B.
   Depew delivered a big spike early in the frame to set the pace for the Indians. Not to be outdone, Brandi Forbes would answer for the Cyclones hammering down an errant pass from D-B to keep it close in the early going.
   Despite solid effort, the end was near thanks to a string of fine serves from Sophomore Kaley Wetherholt. A pair of aces combined with solid support helped the Indians roll off 5 consecutive points en route to the 15-7 final.
   The Cyclones did have a comeback attempt thanks to the strong serves of Jennie Powell. Her serves combined with a few Indian unforced errors helped the Lady 'Clones put together a scoring streak of their own, but in the end they would come up short.
   For the Lady Cyclones, this week will bring a host of conference opponents to the schedule in the likes of Johnson County and Volunteer. With wins hard to come by this season, the program's success will be in dire need of a few victories.
   Coach Bradley is hoping her troops will respond in order to take home some conference W's, "I think we will pick it up," said Bradley "The level of intensity was not as high as it needed to be tonight, we will be more focused against Johnson County tomorrow."