CHOCOWINITY — The hustle and energy was consistent, but it did not consistently translate into points for the Southside volleyball team as it fell 25-12, 25-22, 25-23 to Perquimans in a Four Rivers Conference matchup on Tuesday.
The Seahawks (3-5, 1-3) hit the hardwood for balls on the floor and jumped up to block kills but in the end the Pirates’ front line was too strong and talented to overcome.
“Their front line did a good job of reading each other very well,” Southside first-year coach Rosalyn Grimes said. “Their big hitter (Shelby Stokley) came in and we just could not get adjusted to her hits. She just seemed to be putting the ball in the perfect spot.”
Stokley led the Pirates (6-4, 2-2) with a game-high 10 kills, while Amber Stallings added three blocks and came up with some big assists and serves throughout the course of the match.
Southside’s Sondra Sparks had a strong game for the Seahawks as she led the team in service points and kills with 10 and four, respectively.
Corey Watford added 10 service points, while Marlin Edwards racked up nine service points and five assists and Macy Paramore and Valerie Hodges each totaled seven service points. Kyaijia Mourning led the team with five blocks.
Southside struggled in the first match as it could not keep pace with Perquimans and fell 25-12.
Southside upped the intensity in the next game as it managed to tie the Pirates five times. The Seahawks knotted the score at 11 after a DeAndria Purdue block, but could not capitalize on it and were not able to get ahead the rest of the game.
Grimes said the bottom line is that her team’s defense has to continue to improve.
“I felt we could have played better. Once again our defense was not where I wanted it to be,” Grimes said. “I’m not sure if they’re tired because we do a lot of conditioning, or if they are still getting adjusted to my defense.
“We have to do a better job covering the floor on defense and anticipating. Our anticipation is just not there. In my defense they have to read (the opposing) players and I don’t think we’re doing that well.”
In the third game, the Seahawks continued to make some spectacular plays but could not follow them up with some of the more basic ones and failed to score points in bunches.
The Seahawks managed to tie up the Pirates 13 times in the final game, with the last time making it a 23-23 ball game. However, Southside ended the match with two unforced errors.
“I love their hustle plays. I tell them that they will never hear me fussing if there are hustling,” Grimes said. “We had some great hustle plays. It’s there, but we have to have that all the time.”
The Seahawks will look to bounce back on Thursday when they play at South Creek.