After knocking off Wetumpka and Tallassee in three sets each, Elmore County received a bye to the semifinals of Saturday’s Stanhope Elmore Invitational. However, in a rematch with Wetumpka, the Panthers could not find the same success they had in the first meeting and fell in straight sets, 25-16, 25-18, to be eliminated.
Elmore County (7-3) was sitting for nearly two hours between its final pool play match and its semifinal match. ECHS coach Kim Moncrief said that could have affected her team’s play but the players need to learn from that experience to stay ready for the postseason.
“It might have had a little something to do with it,” Moncrief said. “But honestly, in tournaments, that may happen so that can’t be something we use as an excuse. We have to learn from it. You never know when you will have to come back to the court so you have to be ready.”
The Panthers lost the first set of pool play to Wetumpka but found their rhythm in the next two sets. Kelley Green had seven kills in the final two sets of the win over the Indians while four other Elmore County players recorded at least one kill.
Before bracket play began, the Panthers added Madison Britt and Katie Pack into their squad when the two players returned from taking the ACT. Moncrief said they played well but she thinks the lineup change may have had an effect on the results in the knockout stage.
“I don’t really know what the difference was,” Moncrief said. “Wetumpka played well in both matches. I think we were a little bit more on with our defense the first game and we might have made a little more errors the second time. We had some changes in the lineup we need to look at but Wetumpka played a very, very good game.”
Wetumpka led by as many as 10 in the first set and it was easy to see the surprised feeling in the faces of Elmore County players. Once the deficit continued to grow, it was just a matter of time before Wetumpka secured the win and moved into the championship match.
“We really try to take it one point at a time,” Moncrief said. “When we make a few errors and they made some great hits, you can’t let it get to you. But it’s just hard to recover when they’re playing that well. They deserved to win that game.”
Green led the Panthers with 21 kills in the tournament while Mirriam Foster added 16 kills. Brianna Baker finished with 11 digs.
As Class 4A Area 5 play started this week, Elmore County was happy to see some stiff competition to prepare for a shift in mindset as the Panthers get ready to hunt down a 10th consecutive area title.
“I’m actually very happy we got to play Wetumpka right before going into area,” Moncrief said. “I think that sets us up better to perform against Handley and Holtville. That helps us get better mentally for that. To play someone like that, even to lose, it will help us be better on Monday.”
Elmore County swept Handley in straight sets to open area play Monday night.
