BIG FINISH

By TJ MAXWELL Cove Leader-Press Starting slow but finishing strong is a trait ofthis year’s Copperas Cove Lady Dawgs volleyball team. Head coach Cari Lowery likes the strong finish, but the slow start – not so much. After losing their first two matches of the season, the Lady Dawgs reeled off eight-straight wins to earn a spot in the finals of the Austin ISD Jason Landers Invitational. That slow start crept in again Tuesday in asweep of Stony Point in the Lady Dawgs’ home opener. “I wasn’t very pleased the way we played tonight,”  Lowery said after the match. “We played like it was our very first home game and we just played slow. It was not how we looked this weekend at all and not what we’re capable of. There were moments of greatness but Saturday, it was great all day. We were very inconsistent tonight.” That inconsistency allowed Stony Point to take the lead in each of the three sets of the match. The cream eventually rose to the top as the   Lady Dawgs, led by junior Chyanne Chapman, ralliedto complete t e three-set sweep “I felt we could have played better because we didn’t play to our potential,” Chapman said about her team’s effort. “But, it was good that we came back and fought to win all three games.” The biggest rally came in the third set when  the Lady Dawgs found themselves in a 20-10 hole, spurred by some unforced errors. A hard kill and a block by Chapman spearheaded a 15-2 run by the Lady Dawgs to secure the set and the match (25-17, 25-16, 25-22). “We got momentum when we got a big kill,” Chapman said. “Everybody got hyped and came together and we started playing more as a team.” Chapman, who finished with nine kills and registered two blocks and three kills for five of Cove’s final nine points of the set. “She’s so coachable,” Lowery said about Chapman. “She is a little sponge and absorbs everything I say. I don’t really ever have to tell her anything twice. She’s either got it or she’s getting it. She has still barely scratched the surface of what she’s capable of. She’s getting better, I think, every game. That’s our goal for everybody, but she really is going to be a player.” Though Lowery was not pleased with the overall effort, she was happy with the finish. The Lady Dawgs won 10-straight points to close out the match. “That’s great. They didn’t give up or lay down, but we shouldn’t be in that position,” she said. “If you look at the last eight points of the last game, that’s how we can play right there. That was the first spark, energy and excitement that I saw in the entire match. Chyanne came off the bench and started it. Then (Madison Wasiak) came in and it was all over.” Lowery thinks a busy first week and lack of normalpregame rituals contributed to the inconsistent play. “Somewhat,” she said. “Usually on a game day, we get to have a little walk through or team meeting. Today, we had in-service all day long so I didn’t get to see them until right before we started playing. We were sluggish  and we didn’t warm up well.”Lowery also made some wholesale changes in the rotation after losing the opening two matches of the season, which resulted in nine wins in their next 10 games. “We changed it after that Tuesday night,” she said. “We came back Wednesdayand I changed everything. We  played with that rotation the rest of the tournament and got  etter and better.” She tweaked it a little again before Tuesday’s game, but wasn’t happy with the results so more tweaking is in order, she says. “I made a little change tonight, but didn’t like it so I’m going to change it again,” she said. “It’s a puzzle, trying to get the blockers that block well together, the passers that  pass well together, the defense that can work and talk together. There are just a lot of little pieces to the puzzle. We’ll get it, that’s my job. When we find it, it’s going to be all there.”  The Lady Dawgs fell behind in the opening set against Stony Point on Tuesday, 1-3. They rallied to force six ties before finishing the set on a 17-9 run. Seniors Megan  Diaz, Jennifer Eubanks, Katy  Ranes and Raeven Dickerson all had kills durin  the run. Junior Kianna Childers served up and ace, Ranes had several assists and Diaz recorded a block during the run. Senior libero Bailey French had  some quality defensive plays  during that run as well.The Lady Dawgs had  a similar start and finish in the second set. After falingbehind 2-6, they reeled off  six-straight points during a 23-10 run. Aces by Childers, Wasiak, Chapman, French  and junior Jordan Campbell  led the way. Junior Brianna Acker, Chapman, Eubanks, and Ranes all had kills in the  run while Diaz, Chapman and Acker each recorded a block. Chapman led the way in kills with nine, followed by Eubanks and Dickerson with   five each. Chapman also led in blocks with six. Carlisle led the assists category with 15,  followed by Ranes with 12.  French led in digs with 14 and Wasiak had 10. Primarily a blocker last year, Chapman is involved in   all aspects this year – leading the team in kills and blocks.  “I love it because I can contribute more to the team,” she said. “It’s really exciting to g   big kills and big blocks and know that I’m helping the team more than I did last year.”  The Lady Dawgs began the highly competitive threeday,16-team Granbury Tournament  yesterday with matchups against Stephenville, Abilene Cooper and Burleson  Centennial. Lowery hopes her squad  will hold steady in Granbury. “(We need) just a little bit more consistency,” she said. “On offense, we have someweapons but we’re not consistent on running the plays and doing what we need to  do. When we do, it’s awesome.  ast weekend, Katy did a great job of controlling the game and knowing whereher hitters were and where the block was. It’s there, but I’m hoping we get back to that this weekend and get a little more solid.”