Lady Airedales storm past Eagles, 25-13, 25-20, 25-21  

By Kevin Taylor

Alma Schools 

First-year Alma coach Joshua Stark figured his team might be a little ‘jittery’ heading into Thursday’s Benefit match with Paris. 

They were indeed. 

But thanks to some serious scoring runs, Alma withstood its emotions for a clean sweep (25-13, 25-20, 25-21) at Charles B. Dyer Arena. 

“I was never really worried, but I wanted us to show more power, and what we’ve been doing in practice,” Stark said. “Once we get the jitters out of the way, we’ll come in Monday ready to go.”

Alma opens the season for keeps this Monday. 

The Airedales haven’t posted a winning season since 2012, and at times Thursday looked the part.

“We didn’t play like we’ve been practicing,” Starks said. “We’ve been really hitting the ball hard in practice. We had a lot of jitters today, and that may be from a new way of doing things. But I’m really proud; we decorated the locker room, they sat and watched the freshmen, and we did a lot of good things on the bench. It’s good to start some new traditions.”

“I feel like the team really flows together well,” senior Bailee Oliver said. “We were a little nervous. In the first set, we weren’t really nervous, and in the second set, we were. It feels very different but really good.”

GOLF

Chase Wood and Jack Taylor both shot 77 to lead Alma to a first-place finish in Hot Springs Village this week. 

Airedale teammates Carson Curd and Caden Hesson both shot 78. Alma finished 26 strokes better than El Dorado. Parker Morland and Silas Dumond both shot 80 and 81, respectively.