By Owen Whitsett
Coffee County Central volleyball continued its strong start to the season Tuesday night, sweeping Shelbyville 3-0 in the Lady Raiders’ home opener and earning a second straight-set victory in as many nights.
Shelbyville opened the first set with a 4-0 run, but Coffee County quickly responded. The Lady Raiders tied the set at 4-4 before turning a 6-6 tie into an 11-6 advantage. Coffee County eventually stretched the lead to 17-6 and controlled the remainder of the set for a 25-16 victory.
Set two was much tighter. Shelbyville held a 12-9 advantage before Coffee County battled back to tie the set at 13. The Lady Raiders then scored four straight to move ahead 17-13 and maintained the advantage down the stretch. Cara Newlin delivered the final kill to secure a 25-20 win and give Coffee County a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set remained competitive early, with Paisley Dyer opening the scoring on a kill before Hayleigh Harris delivered an ace to help Coffee County build a 4-1 advantage. Shelbyville fought back to tie the set at 7 and again at 9 before the Lady Raiders began creating separation.
Dyer added another kill to make it 17-14, and Isabelle Saner later delivered back-to-back aces to push the Coffee County advantage to 22-16. Daisy Kapise provided the exclamation point, hammering a kill for the final point of the night as the Lady Raiders took the third set 25-18 and completed the sweep.
Andon Selvog directed the offense with 21 assists and seven digs. Danni Hillis finished with eight kills, seven digs, an ace and a block, while Newlin added eight kills, six digs and a block. Harris recorded 15 digs, seven kills and two aces.
Saner added 12 assists, five digs and two aces. Jenslee Nogodula led Coffee County with 17 digs and added two aces, while Addy Wild finished with four kills, two blocks and an ace. Dyer recorded four kills, Cailey Sturgill added three, and Kapise finished with one kill and one dig.
Coffee County has now opened the season with back-to-back 3-0 sweeps after defeating Grundy County on Monday. The Lady Raiders return to action Thursday on the road at Lincoln County.
