Great Ball Controllers in Russell-Letcher County Central Game

The old saying of it not being about how a team starts, but how it finishes more than applied to this 2A, Section 8 semifinal game at Johnson Central.   The Letcher County Central Cougars (11-5 overall) came out strong in both sets, but the Russell Devils finished stronger in the 2-0 (25-23, 25-23) victory. Russell returns to Johnson Central to face the host Eagles on Thursday in the Section 8 championship game. There are six teams in Section 8, but three dropped out of the tournament leaving just three in it.   The Devils (5-6) have some inexperience at key spots and the Cougars tried to take advantage of it with aggressive serving and attacking. However, Russell has an experienced senior middle blocker in [player_tooltip player_id='535185' first='Jaycee' last='Hall'] and senior setter in [player_tooltip player_id='877673' first='Brooklyn' last='Sizemore']. When in rhythm, Hall made a lot of things happen. Addi Bays and [player_tooltip player_id='1020894' first='Sloane' last='Hicks'] among others made some nice plays for Russell.   "We're still working on the offensive front line with [player_tooltip player_id='535185' first='Jaycee' last='Hall'] kind of trying to put more points on the board than we are right now," Russell head coach Kaycie Mullins said. "We kind of got stuck in one rotation where Jaycee's in the back line and we lose a lot of points there. But we're good. We have a lot of good hitters this year. We're making a lot of changes."   The Cougars will bounce back. The dynamic freshman libero [player_tooltip player_id='762378' first='Piper' last='Adams'] made some brilliant saves and senior setter Kelsi Holbrook set up the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='612103' first='Evany' last='Pack'], [player_tooltip player_id='771734' first='Calissa' last='Lowe'] and [player_tooltip player_id='603819' first='Hanna' last='Eldridge']. The Cougars fell behind 24-18 in the final set, but did not give up. They ran off five straight points before the Devils won it. The Cougars travel to Hazard on Wednesday.   These five did a good job controlling balls and executing in this game.    Hall not only hits the ball hard, but is hitting it smarter her senior year. She eyes the floor then makes good decisions whether to rip it or tip it. Hall has a quick arm swing and it shows when when she lets balls fly. Hall paints side lines on ones and makes things happen with hustle plays. She made a diving save that landed in Letcher's back row for a huge point. Hall is a sound six-rotation player. She calls for balls in the back row and her teammates then go to their secondary positions. Hall lunges for balls out of necessity, but under control. Hall also forms nice double blocks with teammates. Opponents can't go soft on her. Hall said the team has put work in being smart on the front line and that's made a difference recently.     Sizemore has a great connection with Hall and knows she can set Hall when the Devils need a big kill. She's working on the connections with the other hitters and they are coming together. Sizemore does not let mistakes get to her. She betters balls on the next plays. Her sets have gotten quicker her senior year. Sizemore makes quality first touches and sends out of system balls back toward the net on second touches. Sizemore also puts across tough serves. Sizemore said tries to be an example to the younger players by letting mistakes go quickly.     Hicks (pictured) made a number of strong first touches in the Russell victory. Hicks has been taking good swings for the Devils. She'll make a difference there with more consistency. Hicks hustles hard after balls and is an aggressive server. Hicks said the small things like errors add up, but it's imporrtant to keep the energy up to win games.     Adams is as dynamic of a libero as they come. She just surpassed 1,000 career digs as a freshman with her range, great technique, ball control and all out desire to not let balls drop. She is an outstanding encourager of her teammates and brings great energy on every play. Setter dumps to not land on her easily. Adams takes minimal steps to balls and constantly makes the simple passes. Adams does not try to do too much like she has in the past. Adams landed some aces with her nice jump float serve. Another great quality of Adams is she's coachable.     Eldridge takes nice rips when the Cougars need a big kill. She not only makes plays in the front row at the pins and middle, but also the back row. Eldridge takes nice swings on pipe plays. Eldridge powers through double blocks and shoves balls to different parts of the court such as the middle.    Note from Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for two years and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. 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The old saying of it not being about how a team starts, but how it finishes more than applied to this 2A, Section 8 semifinal game at Johnson Central.