Cougars win battle against Gobblers

STUARTS DRAFT – After a slow start Stuarts Draft came back to beat Broadway in four games 20-25, 25-15, 26-24 and 25-20 on Thursday.

The Cougars came out in the first game distracted and lost their composure quickly when the Gobblers started slamming down spikes.

“We haven’t had noise in this gym all year so that was surprising,” said Stuarts Draft coach Kami Meeteer about the fans. “We’ve had support, but just not loud.”

The Draft football players filed in and packed one quarter of the stands; although the fans weren’t there in quantity they were being heard.

Bad passes and lack of communication between the Cougars led to their downfall in Game 1.

“I keep trying to get the girls to learn to play their game,” Meeteer said. “I told them that there’s nothing you can do about the play before.”

Kills from Kristen Ulmer and Krisa Nyce gave the Gobblers an early lead. Draft came back towards the end to tie the game at 20, but a combination of long and short shots from the Cougars put Broadway over the limit.

Game 2 started out similar to the previous with the Gobblers in the lead, but Kamron Johnson took it into her own hands to put the Cougars back on top. Hard slams from Johnson and Aliya Stevenson left Broadway in a state of disarray.

“This is mid-season, we just got to get over the hump,” Meeteer said.

Broadway wasn’t lying down easy for Draft, each game played out with close calls and a lot of hustle from the Gobblers.

“Broadway has always been a hustling team, they’re always ready to play,” Meeteer said. “They just have good intensity.”

Erin Brown led Draft with 29 assists, 15 service points and four aces. Johnson had 14 kills and five blocks for the Cougars while Stevenson had nine kills. Caroline Campbell contributed 11 service points, one ace, and 20 digs for Draft as well.

The Cougars (8-4, 4-0) head to the Little Giant’s territory on Tuesday.

“We just need to practice hard this Friday and Monday, we’re on their [Waynesboro] home court,” Meeteer said.

Draft also won in the JV match, beating Broadway in two games 25-17 and 25-21, Lauren Campbell led the way with seven service points and three aces.