They certainly didn’t think it would take this long. But the Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets volleyball team finally landed its first win at home, beating conference foe Franklin Heights in 3 straight games Thursday, 25-23 25-21 25-14.
“We’ve gone to five games, but we still hadn’t won at home. I told the team we were not going to let it happen again,” Mount Vernon head coach Ericka Feick said.
It didn’t start well for the Jackets, even before the match began. The team found out that day that Courtney Burke, the big senior at middle, was out with a knee injury. The confusion showed right away when the Jackets were whistled for a substitution penalty for having players out of position.
“We have a number of players who are ill or injured. We didn’t even practice this way [with this lineup],” Feick said.
To fill the gap, Melissa Hall played middle for the first time. At first, the lack of practice showed. Mount Vernon gave up the first 5 points. But after a timeout, the team came alive, taking the lead on an Alex Miglin kill to make it 11-10. The Jackets never looked back.
“We adjusted well. The players figured it out on their own,” Feick said.
The second game was much like the first. After Franklin Heights started off strong, the Jackets took the lead back with team play. Kate Reynolds’ passing and Miglin’s play on the net sealed the deal.
