Lady Mohawk volleyball team tunes-up at jamboree

Any military commander will tell you that you have no idea how your troops are going to react to a combat situation until you put them in one. The same is true for coaches and the athletes they train-- practice is just not a good substitute for game experience.

With that in mind, the Piggott Lady Mohawks began their 2010 campaign Thursday night by traveling to one of the Mecca's of volleyball in Northeast Arkansas and taking on some of the top talent in the state. The site was Westside High School and their historic round gym, and the opponents for the jamboree were the host Warriors, Jonesboro Hurricane and Paragould Lady Rams.

For Coach Melissa Williams, and her new assistant Jenna Weeks, it would be a good indication of how this year's team would act and react under pressure..and despite being swept on the night the Tribe made a good showing.

In the first game of the Jamboree the Lady Mohawks would take on Paragould, and a coaching staff filled with former Piggott standouts. The 5A Rams are coached by Angie Donner, one of the best female athletes to ever don the red, black and white and a former Piggott coach. Her staff includes former Piggott players Nikki Pounds and Angie (Beck) Burnside.

In the contest the Lady Rams jumped out to an early lead, and were soon up 6-0 in the first-to-25 contest. But, the Lady Mohawks began to find their stride by mid-game and pulled back to make it a respectable 25-13 loss.

"I saw a little fire in that one, I saw a spark there and that's something I can work with," Williams noted after the game. "I'm not even sure what the score was, it doesn't matter, I liked the fire I saw in that one and that's the first time I've seen that in weeks of practice."

After a break the Tribe took on the host Westside Warriors, still one of the top 4A teams in the state despite losing a ton of players to graduation and being forced to hire a new coach. The young and talented Warriors came out hot and jumped to an early lead as they coasted to a 25-10.

The Lady Mohawks got just a short break before their final game, as they took on the 7A Lady Hurricane of Jonesboro High School and their new coach. Much like they did in the Paragould game, the Tribe started a bit slow but hung with the JHS team for much of the contest. In the late going the size advantage worked to the Hurricane's advantage as they pushed on to a 25-13 win.

On the night only the Paragould and Westside teams went undefeated, as they had records of 3-0 in the jamboree. For the Lady Mohawks it was a good tune-up, and a good chance for the coaching staff to see what combinations work as they sort-out the young squad.

Tuesday night the Lady Mohawks were again scheduled to take on the Lady Rams of Paragould, and the former Lady Mohawks on their bench, as they travel to Greene County for a non-conference set. With the first game scheduled for 4:30 p.m. both the junior and senior teams were scheduled to be in action at Paragould High School.

The Mohawks will begin their conference season Tuesday, Sept.31 as they host Crowley's Ridge Academy in the PHS gym and they'll be back in action Thursday, Sept. 2 as they host the Bobcats of Walnut Ridge with all teams playing.