BACK ON TRACK: Bob Jones volleyball team rebounds strong
MADISON – As the high school volleyball season neared a midpoint, Bob Jones head coach Jenny Jarrett’s fear was her high-soaring, highly-ranked team wouldn’t lose its trajectory.
It did. Sort of.
The Lady Patriots headed to Hoover for a single match on Sept. 19 with a 31-3 record and a No. 1 ranking not just in Class 7A but among all teams in Alabama by MaxPreps. Bob Jones appeared to be firmly on track while seeking a third straight trip to the state championship finals, where it finished runner-up the past two seasons.
Then came a four-game losing streak on the road, all in five-sets, to Hoover, Mountain Brook, Saraland and McGill-Toolen.
“It kinda woke us up maybe a little,’’ Jarrett said. “We got back in the gym, saw some things we needed to work on.’’
That losing streak was like smelling salts to the squad as the Lady Patriots began a 10-game winning streak through Thursday night’s tri-match sweep at home of 7A, Area 7 and rival Sparkman (10-22) along with Spain Park (23-13).
In combined matches for the host, Kennedy Vaughn had 20 kills and 13 digs while Kendall Buckley added 16 kills, Anabelle Arnold 13 kills and three blocks, Kalison Beigh 21 digs and two aces and Riley Lovell 59 assists, 18 digs and four aces.
Bob Jones (41-7, 4-0 in Area 7) is traveling to Louisville (Ky.) for a tournament before returning home to play Hazel Green before hosting the area tournament as the top seed. The bitter taste of the four-game slide has been washed away for now.
“In my head, it was an opportunity to improve because I knew it wasn’t the end of my season.’’ senior libero Beigh said. “So every single one of those losses really didn’t matter because the only thing that matters is those end of the season games that send you home. So for me, it was an opportunity to grow.
“Even if we go 0-and-4 like we did, we still learn things and it makes us a better team all around. And I would say it was a turning point for our team. Like, even if you lose, you still have things to learn from losing.’’
The Lady Patriots took the lesson to heart. Coming out of that tailspin, which saw them fall from No. 1 in the state to No. 2 behind old nemesis McGill-Toolen, the team lost just two sets in the 10-game winning streak.
After defeating James Clemens and Cullman 3-0 in both matches, Bob Jones traveled to Atlanta for the GVCA Tournament and swept through Georgia teams Columbus, Newnan, Mount Paran Christian and North Cobb all by scores of 2-0. In the title game against host Pace Academy, ranked No. 5 in the Peach State at the time and rising a 31-game home winning streak, the Lady Patriots prevailed 2-1.
Back in Madison, Bob Jones topped traditional power Huntsville 3-1 before the Thursday night sweep.
Of the losing streak, Jarrett said, the players “responded well. They’ve bounced back. They don’t seem rattled by it.’’
