CARROLLTON - It’s been a season filled with flashes of brilliance by the Carrollton Lady Hawks, but then they take a couple of steps back.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
They were defeated by the Carlinville Lady Cavaliers 25-20 and 25-17 in their final game of the regular season on senior night at Carrollton High School on Tuesday. The Lady Hawks finish the regular season at 14-14 and Campbell agrees that their record is a fair reflection of how the 2017 campaign has been so far.
“One moment we look like no one can stop us and when we’re playing like that we were beating everybody,” Carrollton Lady Hawks head coach Daniel Campbell said.“Then we just hit these little speed bumps, and at that point in time anybody can beat us.”
“Carlinville is always going to be hard. There were so many emotional things happening at the beginning, and we weren’t able to be calm and collective,” Campbell said.
Alexis Counts, Haley Harr, Molly Pohlman, Kaylie Rhodes, Emily Talley, and Claire Williams were the six Carrollton seniors honored before the game started.
Harr and Rhodes each finished with six kills, and Pohlman added 12 digs.
The first set of the game almost summed up Carrollton’s season. The Lady Hawks got out to a 9-3 lead, but Carlinville went on to outscore Carrollton 22-11. One of the reasons why the Lady Cavaliers did well was by keeping the play away from star middle hitter, Claire Williams.
“She is our main hitter, every team knows that, and they will do everything they can to stop her,” Campbell said. “I told her we got to get you moving that way you have more options to swing. I know that’s not how [she] wanted it to end, but she has so much more potential to give.”
The second set was mostly dominated by Carlinville, but Campbell was pleased for the most part with the reserves new faces he put in.
“The back row players came in and did a good job, but we couldn’t get the passes that we needed to get started in that second game.”
It will be difficult at the moment to regain their definite form they’ve had during the season because Carrollton is on a three-game losing streak. However, a week ago they won four straight games after coming off of another previous losing skid. Still, Campbell and the Lady Hawks have expectations for themselves.
“There’s no reason why we can’t walk through there with a title,” Campbell said. “Hopefully next week we’ll be the team that no one can stand and keep up with us. It’s going to be tough.”
Carrollton faces South County in the regional semifinals of IHSA Class 1A Greenfield Regional on Tuesday night at 6:30 pm.
More like this:
