The Morgan County volleyball team has had an exceptional run through the month of September, and it doesn’t look like they’ll accept anything less.
The Spike Dogs are 11-2 since Sept. 1, and had a 12-game winning streak from Aug. 18 to Sept. 8 in which they didn’t lose a single set.
Head coach Kat Goodwin’s squad has seemed to find its rhythm and is currently sitting at 23-5, but she acknowledged the girls have had to work on different aspects of the game to get to this point, especially serving.
“We started off the season with a ton of service errors, which to me is a huge no. Serving is the one thing in volleyball that the girls have 100% control over, so we have spent a decent amount of time working on that skill,” Goodwin said. “We open nearly every practice practicing our serve and serve/ receive skills, and we have devoted some time to target serving.”
A lot of players, younger or older, have found a way to contribute to the team’s success, and junior Allie Cox has done that after the emphasis on serving well was put on the squad.
“Allie has really become a key spot server for us,” Goodwin said. “I moved our rotation around so she was our first server. I want her back there as much as possible, and it has really made a difference.”
Other players that have positively impacted Morgan County’s season are sophomores Haedyn Crumbley and Quinn Butler.
Last week in a 2-0 win over White County, Crumbley and Butler led the way with multiple kills. Up to this point, Crumbley leads Morgan County in kills and hitting percentage while Butler is top three in kills, digs and serving aces.
Earlier this week, Goodwin attributed their play to the team’s confidence heading into any match on their schedule.
“Quinn and Haedyn are very talented volleyball players and they both have a strong drive to grow and get better,” Goodwin said. “The girls know they can count on them to make important plays in critical moments.”
Even with their dominance, the Spike Dogs have run into some talented teams that have given them some trouble.
The team has lost to bigger programs like Dacula, Jefferson and Winder-Barrow twice, but Goodwin believes even in defeat, the girls learned something from those matches, and it has helped them progress through this season.
“We have had a couple of close losses that have shown us where we need to improve as a team,” Goodwin said. “I would face off against any team we have lost to with the confidence that we are a stronger team now than we were when we saw them. We get that opportunity only with Winder-Barrow, who we will see on Thursday, and I hope that we can pull out a win this time.”
Winder-Barrow is one of many teams Morgan County still has left on the schedule, but the Spike Dogs currently have a lot of momentum heading into more area play, with the potential to make another deep playoff run.