Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

The Lewis County Middle School Lady Panthers volleyball team began play for the Fall ‘21 season participating in a playday in Lawrenceburg at E.O. Coffman Middle School, squaring off with teams from E.O. Coffman and Ethridge.

The first match of the day for the Lady Panthers was against the host team from Coffman. The Lady Panthers dropped the first set 25-21 in a close, back-and-forth and hard-nosed opening frame. Coffman was able to open up a bit of a lead in the second set of the match and took a 25-18 win in set two to take the victory 2-0.

In their second match of the day, Lewis County faced the Ethridge Lady Bulldogs. Building on their strong performance against the Coffman Lady Panthers, Lewis County was able to secure an early lead against the Lady Bulldogs and take a 25-18 win in the first set of the match. Ethridge battled back in set two of the match and won a close 25-23 set to even the match at one set apiece. In the third and deciding set it was the Lady Panthers that pulled away late to secure a 15-12 set victory and win the match 2-1.

Members of the 2021 Lady Panthers volleyball team are Raylee Baker, Anna Burney, Addison Carroll, Jazzy Conner, Carley Couch, Abby Hinson-Vaughn, Kinlee Keltner, Bailey Kwider, Briley Marshall, Emery Norris, Addison Osborne, Brylee Renner, Julie Rhoden, Summer Rochelle, Kylie Runions, Eva Smith, Sophie Stutts, C.J. Tanner, and Lele Walker. The Lady Panthers are coached by Rachel Riley and assisted by Brooke Clayton.

The team opened their regular-season schedule at home on Monday, August 2nd at LCMS Gymnasium against the E.O. Coffman Middle Lady Panthers

Lewis County was up for the task against Coffman, playing a tight first set to extra points in a thrilling 26-25 set win. As play moved on to the second set the Lady Panthers continued to build on the thrilling first set win and pulled away from Coffman in set two for a 25-19 win to take the match 2-0.

The Lady Panther junior varsity squad took the floor against the Coffman junior varsity and played a close first set before ultimately dropping the set 25-22. The JV Lady Panthers fought back in the second set and evened the match at one set each with a 25-23 set two win. In the third and deciding set it was the Coffman junior varsity team that took the win 15-12 to take the match 2-1.

The Lady Panthers team faced off with the Ethridge Lady Bulldogs on Friday, August 6th in Ethridge.

In a rematch between the teams who first played the week before at the Coffman Playday that saw the Lady Panthers win a 2-1 match, it was Ethridge that took an early win in extra points in the first set 28-26. The Lady Panthers came back strong in the second set of the matchup taking a 25-15 win to even the match at one set each. In the third and final set of varsity play Lewis County held off the Lady Bulldogs to take a 16-14 win in the deciding set to win the match 2-1.

In junior varsity action, the Lady Bulldog JV pulled out in front early and took the first set 25-17 over the Lady Panther junior varsity 25-17. Like the varisty team, the Lady Panther JV stormed back in the second set of the match to take a commanding 25-9 win to force a third set. In the deciding final set it was the host Lady Bulldog JV that took the set 15-12 to win the junior varsity match 2-1.

The Lady Panthers team travelled to Loretto on Monday, August 9th to take on the South Lawrence Lady Stallions.

The junior varsity Lady Panthers opened play against the South Lawrence JV group. In the first set of junior varsity play it was South Lawrence who pulled away en route to a 25-10 set win. The Lady Stallions continued to pressure the Lewis County JV in the second and final set of the match, winning 25-13 and taking the match victory in junior varsity play.

The varsity match was a struggle for the Lady Panthers as well, as the Lady Stallions pulled out to take a 25-12 win in the opening set. The Lady Panthers were unable to overcome South Lawrence after the break and dropped the second set 25-13, taking the match loss.

The Lady Panthers have a quick turnaround, travelling to Lawrenceburg to take on E.O. Coffman on Tuesday, August 10th.