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Strong serving, solid floor play, a fairly easy two-set sweep of a conference rival.

Polk County Middle volleyball coach Kenny Hall undoubtedly had a big smile beneath his mask for most of Monday afternoon.

The Wolverines cruised to a 25-9, 25-8 win over Apple Valley Middle at Polk Middle as the 2020 season finally opened for both teams, the match also returning live sports to the PCMS campus for the first time since March.

Polk Middle (1-0) quickly raced to large leads in both matches as Apple Valley (0-1) often struggled to receive serve. That, Hall said, is a key part of the Wolverines’ game plan this season.

“That is definitely a strength from this team, our serving,” Hall said. “We have a couple of outstanding servers and that gives us an advantage from the very first point.

“(Today) absolutely couldn’t have gone any better for us. I was really proud of the way that all the girls came together, and obviously the talent and skill showed off today. We have a lot of new girls taking advantage of new opportunities and today was a great start to our season.”

The game also marked the first match held under new state rules requiring all players to wear masks unless granted a doctor’s exception for medical reasons.

Polk County Middle is scheduled to return to the court on Wednesday, traveling to Hendersonville Middle.

Submitted by Andy Rhinehart

 

Polk Middle’s Charlie Dusenbury is focused on the ball during Monday’s match against Apple Valley. Read full story on page 12 (Photo by Andy Rhinehart)