The Starr’s Mill varsity volleyball team started making preparations for upcoming region games with a pair of non-region home matches last week. The Lady Panthers defeated Houston County 2-0, but fell to Newnan 2-1.

“We’re working on getting better everyday and finding when we play each match what we need to take away from that we’ll need to work on,” head coach Jason Flowers said. “We’re preparing for the teams [we’ll face], and so we’ll know who’s there and what they’ve got.”

In the first match of the evening, Starr’s Mill defeated Houston County 25-18, 25-19. Sophomore Kari Smith and senior Nicole Smith led the team with 11 kills each. Senior Grace Ramkissoon contributed with 25 assists.

Houston County captured the first point of the set, but Starr’s Mill rallied back. At 10-8, the Bears called a timeout to slow momentum. The tactic worked, as Houston County came out and scored the next five points. The Lady Panthers responded and Rachel Reininger ended the set with a kill giving Starr’s Mill the 25-18 win.

“They had some really good defense. They played rotational defense, which is where the libero pulls up to get tips, which I love to tip, so that was pretty challenging,” Reininger said. “They were very weak with hitting, and they were easy to read, so we were able to adjust and pick up their hits.”

Both teams played a much closer second set with both teams trading scoring. Starr’s Mill pulled away at the end, winning 25-19.

In the second match of the evening, Starr’s Mill lost to Newnan 25-20, 22-25, 12-15.

Starr’s Mill trailed early in the first set, but rallied back to win 25-20.

However, in the second set, Newnan fought back from an early 8-2 deficit by using timeouts to help slow down the Lady Panthers. The Cougars tied the match at one set each with a 25-22 win.

 In the final set of the evening, the Cougars scored the first point, but Panthers regained control. At 7-5, Newnan called a timeout, again slowing the momentum of the Lady Panthers. Newnan was able to score multiple points before Starr’s Mill called a timeout at 11-13 in a last-attempt effort to take control of the game.

Three points later, Newnan captured the win 15-12.

“It’s always a challenge, because [them calling timeouts] actually hurt us this time,” Flowers said. “We had an opportunity to keep a run going or to push our lead further, but their timeout worked. It’s something we’ve got to work on as our focus.” 

Panther volleyball scored two more wins Thursday night, defeating East Coweta 2-1 and Carrollton 2-0. The team is now 7-4 overall.

Starr’s Mill hosts the Southside Invitational this Saturday. Matches begin at 9 a.m.