AT LONG LAST, LADY ROUGHERS SLAY ANOTHER GIANT

Good things come to those who wait. Well, the Muskogee Lady Roughers have been waiting for three years to knock off a top 10 ranked Class 6A school and they finally did it Tuesday night as they not only beat but swept No. 7 ranked Broken Arrow 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-15). It’s been three years since Muskogee beat then top-10 ranked Union in four sets. Despite some multi-set losses to other 6A teams this season, coach John Hammer has been preaching patience and progress all season long. “There have been seven or eight matches during the season that have come down to the wire like this one and I just kept telling the girls one day when you’re in one of those tough matches, it will all come together and pay off and tonight it paid off.” The first set was a key to the win for the Lady Roughers. After Muskogee jumped out front 16-8, Broken Arrow battled back to eventually tie the set at 20-20. But instead of crumbling as they have before under pressure, Muskogee stayed relaxed even when it was tied at 22-22. From there the Roughers rolled off the final three points including a kill by Madison Wiebe to capture the set. The second set was much like the first with Muskogee (17-14) jumping out to a 5-1 lead only to see the Lady Tigers comeback to tie it at five all. The Lady Roughers got the next four points before Broken Arrow eventually tied the game again at 12-12. The score was knotted again at 16 all and then it was see-saw time. Muskogee went up by three, the Lady Tigers came back to take a 20-19 lead and then it was the Lady Roughers turn to take three straight points to regain the lead. Broken Arrow (14-8) turned the tide again and had set point at 24-23. But the Roughers remained calm and collected and, as in the first set, got the final three points to take a 2-0 set lead with Wren Seabolt getting a key kill. “In the past we’ve always been scared to get on the court with these big teams but this year we’re not scared anymore,” said Seabolt. “We all had energy and believed in ourselves.” The third set saw Broken Arrow break out to an early lead. But with the Lady Tigers leading 6-4, Muskogee rattled off eight unanswered points to take a 12-6 lead from which they never looked back. “I felt like we had it won after we came back to win the first set and they got down on themselves,” said senior Cierra Lewis. Energy seemed to be the key word of the night. What appeared to Hammer to be a lack of energy in pre-game warm ups prompted an unusual strategy. “I griped at them about having no energy and sent them outside and told them not to come back in until you have energy. After the first set started and we went up 8-2 I thought maybe they were just having a quiet focus during the pregame.” Energy was also the focus of post-game comments from Wiebe, Lewis and Seabolt as they all mentioned it as a big plus in beating Broke Arrow. “Those three all brought a lot of energy to the floor. Riley Schuler passed the ball extremely well and Carson (Lamont) and Ja’Layiah (Collins) both played aggressively”, said Hammer. Seabolt had six kills and nine digs to pace the Lady Roughers while Lewis had nine kills and five digs, Wiebe had eight kills, Collins had nine and Mayci Roberts contributed 13 digs. “I asked the girls yesterday to sum up the season so far in one word,” said Hammer. “There were different words spoken but Wren said ‘progress’ and I think that’s what it’s all about. We’ve had so many close matches but I think tonight was a good push for us as we get closer to the playoffs. Right now we’re starting to play our best volleyball of the season. We’re not where we’re going to be but we’re getting there.” Muskogee will have the rest of the week off before hosting East Central next Monday.

AT LONG LAST, LADY ROUGHERS SLAY ANOTHER GIANT

Photo Credit: Abigail Washington

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