Lamar’s Price breaks the 500 assists mark as Lady Raiders beat Meridian 3-0
Published 11:00 pm Thursday, September 30, 2021
- Lamar's Ella Temple goes up to serve the ball to Meridian during their match Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, at Meridian.
Lamar’s Emily Price had 25 assists for Lamar, which put her at 501 assists on the season, as the Lady Raiders beat Meridian 3-0 in Thursday night prep volleyball action
Caroline Frugé finished with 10 kills and six digs for Lamar, while Ella Temple tallied five aces, which gave her more than 80 aces on the season. The Lady Raiders won each set 25-14, 25-19 and 25-13, and they were also coming off a 3-0 win against Simpson Academy Tuesday, which secured them a divisional championship.
“Technically MAIS doesn’t have volleyball districts unlike every other sport, but to go undefeated in our 5A division felt incredibly invigorating because to be such a young team, it’s just fun to watch them succeed on such a high level,” Lamar volleyball coach Courtney Schimelpfening said.
The success, Schimelpfening said, is due to a tenacious drive in each player to constantly better themselves.
“The thing about these girls is they’re so hungry for improvement,” Schimelpfening said. “They work so hard on even the little things just to be better than everyone else at the basics. I think that’s what’s making us successful this season, and having girls that want to be better than everyone else sure helps a lot.”
For Meridian, Aaliiya Mendiola finished with four aces and five assists, while Gabrielle Houston tallied seven kills. Meridian volleyball coach Jamie Buxton said even though the results weren’t what she wanted, she was proud of her players’ effort, especially in the second set.
“We played really hard for the most part,” Buxton said. “We got down at the beginning of the game, but we fought to come back within five (in the second set), which I’m really proud of my girls for doing. We’re short one of our middles tonight, Cenyya Jordan, who’s out for about a week with an ankle injury. We’re just going to try to put it together before senior night Tuesday, but I was just thankful they came back and fought tenaciously toward the end.”
Lamar (12-3, 9-3) is scheduled to play at Madison-Ridgeland Academy Thursday, Oct. 7, while Meridian (2-5) is scheduled to host West Lauderdale Monday.
