Published: August 18, 2008 10:20 am         

South Laurel has no trouble with Rockcastle

Lady Cards sweep Lady Rockets in straight sets, 25-22, 25-10

MT. VERNON—Rockcastle County ran up against four aces on Thursday night as the South Laurel Lady Cards took all the chips in two straight sets, 25-22 and 25-10.

Clinging to an 11-10 advantage halfway through the second set, South Laurel went on a 14-0 run thanks to four aces by Erika Burchett.

“I like our serving game,” South Laurel coach Kaye Smith said. “Erika served great tonight and had several aces there at the end.”

The Lady Cards dominated the net with five big kills to grab a 6-2 lead in the first set. Ashley Stock hammered two, while Haley Phelps, Morgan Johnson and Porsha Justice each added one.

The Lady Rockets fired back and tied the score at 13-13 to force the Lady Cards to regroup and regroup they did. Stock took over after the time-out and came up with two kills and a nice block during the 5-0 Lady Cardinal run.

A kill by Phelps, a block by Stock and Emily Gaines and a couple nice plays from Justice gave the first set to the Lady Cards 25-22.

“When we get a lead we need to maintain it and not let them back in the game,” Smith said. “With our height we should be able to compete with any team that can hit hard at us.”

The Lady Cards struggled to get going in the second set with several balls being hit out of bounds. Although the Lady Rockets never led, they did pull within a point at 11-10.

After Burchett turned over four aces, Phelps and Justice added two K’s and the Lady Rockets were drawing dead. The Lady Cards cleared the table with a 25-10 win.

“Porsha played well,” Smith said. “She is strong and she has a lot of power. I think we did okay, I’m pleased with it. Not bad for our first game.”

South Laurel traveled to play in the Prestonsburg Tournament over the weekend, and will host Whitley Co. on Tuesday.