Jacksonville volleyball\u2019s Catherine Flatt is pleased.<\/p>\n
The longtime coach smiled when asked how happy she was about her Cardinals winning 10 of their first 12 matches following Thursday\u2019s four-set home victory over East Duplin.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing 10-2, we would definitely have taken that,\u201d Flatt said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of how they\u2019re rising to the occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cardinals only two defeats are a three-set loss to Laney (8-0) on Aug. 25 and a three-set loss to Topsail (7-3) on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Following the match with Topsail, Jacksonville had to turn quickly around and prepare for East Duplin (6-3), which fell in five sets to the Cardinals on Aug. 27.<\/p>\n
The second meeting between the Panthers and Cardinals saw Jacksonville win the first two sets 25-20 and 25-19, fall 16-25 in the third and capture the fourth 25-22.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville has already surpassed last year\u2019s eight-win total and the team is three victories shy of matching the 2023 victory total. The most wins the Cardinals have had in recent seasons came in 2016 when they went 15-4.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve experienced a lot of growing pains, but we\u2019ve made some changes, and the girls have handled themselves well,\u201d Flatt said. \u201cEven under pressure … they stay composed and work their way around things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacksonville\u2019s senior captains are also pleased.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of these girls are pretty good, everybody worked in the offseason, and everybody meshes very well,\u201d senior Athena Teel said. \u201cOur defense is really good, and we are always in the right places.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senior Lakota Flatt agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have different types of mentalities and different ways we play, and we piece it together like a puzzle,\u201d she said. \u201cIt brings the whole team together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lakota Flatt and Teel are the two team leaders, but they are complemented by several teammates.<\/p>\n
Senior Isabella Hernandez and junior Hailey Mahouchick join Flatt are team leaders in digs, junior Mckenzie Riddle helps Teel with the assists while senior Kasyn Griffey, sophomores Lydia Lee and Abigayle Valentin and freshmen Kaydence Clemmons and Leah Bartley also contribute.<\/p>\n
But while the Cardinals are happy with their play, they know there is still work to be done before their next game Sept. 15 at home against New Bern (5-3) to open Big Carolina 6-A\/7-A Conference play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to do over some defense and some little things we need to correct,\u201d Catherine Flatt said. \u201cWe want to be fully ready for New Bern.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cardinals believe they will be ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually think not having a game next week will be really good for our team because we will have time to break down all the things we need to work on,\u201d Teel said. \u201cSome of our nonconference games pointed out all the things we need to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lakota Flatt seconded that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will need to work on our coverage and our blocking is important, especially when we play very big teams like J.H. Rose or D.H. Conley,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, we will be working on that. The past few weeks we\u2019ve been pushing three games every week so next week will give us time to recuperate and work on things we need to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n