Lady Airedales fall to upstart Charleston in 5
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
The Alma Lady Airedales volleyball team dropped a five-set decision (20-25, 16-25, 25-20, 27-25, 15-13) to Charleston Monday night in the season opener for both teams.
Alma, which returns home today to face Ozark, won the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-16, before dropping three straight.
Breella Hughes and Chloe Gregory led Alma with 14 and 13 kills, respectively.
“I’m grateful that we can have a short-term memory and be ready to go back tomorrow,” Alma coach Kim Weaver said. “We just have to find our groove. That’s really what it comes down to.”
Down 10-4 in the first set, Alma caught fire and ended the game by outscoring the Lady Tigers, 21-10. They carried that momentum into the second set and, after initially blowing a 6-1 lead and trailing 7-6, coasted to a nine-point win. Gregory had three late kills in the set and assisted Josie Welborn with another kill to help finish off Charleston.
Alma grinded out a 15-13 lead in the third set thanks to back-to-back kills from Welborn and Maggie Brogan.
But Charleston caught fire, and thanks to some Alma hitting errors, rallied to force a fourth set.
Welborn’s kill, an ace by Hughes, and back-to-back blocks from Welborn helped Alma to a quick 7-2 lead in the fourth set. Alma eventually led 24-22 before Charleston rallied to force the fifth game.
“We have to figure out what lineup we’re going to use,” Weaver said. “Are we going to run a 6-1 or lineup in a 5-1, and who is going to pass the ball for us. We’ve just got to find our groove.”
The Lady Airedales grabbed a 3-0 lead in the fifth set, but Charleston forged ahead 12-8. Alma got no closer than one (14-13) the rest of the way.
Football
Hagen Goodwin scored three touchdowns Monday night to pace the Alma seventh graders to a 28-6 win over the Morrilton Devil Dogs.
Goodwin ran for 264 yards in all, scoring twice on 70-yard TD bursts. He also added a 57-yard touchdown run. Goodwin set up another score with a 73-yard scamper.
Hudson Daily added an eight-yard touchdown run, finishing with 25 yards rushing on just three carries.