Greene Central wins first volleyball match of season

SNOW HILL -- Greene Central wasn’t going to finish this week without a victory.

The Rams fell in four sets to Wilson Beddingfield Monday and had a five-set loss to Eastern Wayne Wednesday before falling behind two sets to one against Farmville Central Thursday. With a strong finish, Greene Central was able to pick up a 24-26, 25-17, 17-25, 25-15, 15-8 victory to end the first week of the season 1-2.

“It’s been a long week,” Greene Central coach James Campbell said. “Each game, we’ve gotten sharper and working on some of the little things. We’ve got a younger team and we’re still getting used to playing with each other. (Today), we just needed to focus on what we could control, playing our own style.”

The Rams scored the game’s first five points, punctuated by an Allison Wade service ace, but the Jaguars (1-1) used a 7-0 run to take an 8-6 advantage. The set had eight ties and five lead changes with GC eventually taking a 24-22 lead. Unfortunately for the Rams, Farmville Central scored the next four points, including an Abby Foster ace to end the set.

In the second, Greene Central took over with runs of 5-0 and 7-0 to take an 18-10 advantage and eventually won going away. After a 6-6 tie in the third set, Farmville Central went on a 10-2 run and coasted to a victory, putting the Rams on the brink.

“The other team got a little cocky (after the third set),” Abby Burress said. “We were also communicating better and helping others when it came to getting the ball (in the right spots.)”

Burress took over in the fourth set with a trio of kills, a service ace and multiple plays to register points for the Rams. The teams traded the first six points before Greene Central went on a 7-1 run — highlighted by a Katelin Uzzell service ace — to establish control.

“We saw that the middle was wide open, so we were focused more on tipping shots than hits,” Uzzell said.

The fifth set was no different with the Rams getting a 6-2 lead. The Jaguars never challenged from there as the Rams’ youth played a key role.

“We’ve got a lot of sophomores, so we have to make sure they’re ready because they’re not on JV,” the senior Uzzell said. “We need them to step up and be prepared.”

The teams will play again in Farmville Monday.