The Carmi-White County Volleyball team hosted Mt. Carmel to begin the 2025 season on Monday night, and it was a dominant performance from start to finish for the Lady Bulldogs.
Carmi jumped out to a hot start, taking a 7-1 lead and forcing Mt. Carmel to use a timeout. That timeout didn’t stop the bleeding, CWC extending their lead to 16-5 before the Lady Aces called yet another timeout.
Mt. Carmel did show some signs of life after their second timeout, going on a quick 4-0 and trimming the CWC lead down to 16-9, but the Lady Bulldogs wrapped up the first set on a 9-2 run, taking it 25-11.
The Lady Dogs picked up right where they left off in the 2nd set, jumping out to 9-1 advantage early. The Lady Aces got it within 7 at 10-3, but that would be as close as they got for the rest of the night. Carmi extended their lead to 15-4 before a Mt. Carmel timeout, and the Lady Dogs finished the set on a 10-3 run to win the set 25-7, winning the match in two sets.
“That was as good as a performance that we could’ve hoped for to start the season,” said CWC Head Coach Chris Lucas.
The Lady Bulldogs entered the night with some uncertainty, with five seniors graduating in May, Carmi had some big shoes to fill – which they did.
“We’ve got some different kids in different spots this year, and man they came out and performed what we asked them to do with precision. This is Torrie Rider’s first year playing on the right, and she was just dominant over there. Callie (Winter), Audrey (Taylor), and Norah (Taylor) all three that can play in the middle, and Addi Elliott.. man. We knew she was good at setting, but she showed everybody tonight that she’s really really good.”
Carmi-White County begins the season with a 1-0 record. They will be back in action on Tuesday at home against Grayville. Fans can watch Tuesday’s match on the WRUL Sports YouTube Channel.
Stats:
SERVING:
Jaya Smith – 3 Aces
Addi Elliott – 2 Aces
Gracelyn Johnson, Caroline Simmons – 1 Ace
HITTING:
Caroline Simmons – 6 Kills
Jaya Smith, Audrey Taylor, Torrie Rider – 5 Kills
Addi Elliott, Callie Winter, Norah Taylor – 1 Kill
ASSISTS:
Addi Elliott – 19 Assists
Jaya Smith, Caroline Simmons, Audrey Taylor, Lillee Dodgson – 1 Assist
DIGS:
Ella Newell – 5 Digs
Addi Elliott – 4 Digs
Lillee Dodgson – 4 Digs
Jaya Smith, Caroline Simmons, Callie Winter – 3 Digs