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September 30, 2008

Senior so-long: Focused MHS gives upperclass a final home win

By Jeremy Short

Muskogee used some of the emotion of Senior Night to propel past Tahlequah 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-18, 25-12) in volleyball action on Tuesday night.

“That was about the about the best job of being focused we’ve done all season,” said Muskogee head coach John Hammer.

The night was made more special by the fact that the six seniors who played their last regular season game Tuesday were among those who were around when Hammer started the program four seasons ago.

“They were kind of the flagship of this thing (Muskogee volleyball program),” said Hammer. “It was nice to send them out with a win.”

Muskogee won the first set handily, and were leading the second set 17-11 before the Lady Tigers went on a 14-6 run to take the set.

In the third set after Muskogee jumped out to an 18-10 lead, Tahlequah (19-13) rallied once again getting as close as 23-17, but this time the Rougherettes held them off to win the set 25-18.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Muskogee,” said Tahlequah head coach Don Ogden. “After we tied it up they were able to take it up a notch. They hung in there and did what they needed to do.”

Seniors Galen Jernigan and Chloe Ford paced Muskogee with 35 combined kills. Freshman Taylor Hennesy added 11 kills for the Rougherettes.

Fellow senior Nicole Gardner had several key defensive plays and finished with six digs.

“She (Gardner) did a lot of things that probably won’t show up in the scorebook,” said Hammer. “She was really good on defense.”

Both teams now await their regional matchup to be announced — Muskogee in 6A and Tahlequah in 5A — later this week.

“If we play the way we’re capable of we’ll have a chance,” said Hammer. “Anything is possible on any given day.”

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