SHERIDAN – When Sheridan junior Skylar Sterritt scored the match-clinching kill Thursday night, it came the way many of her points had all game: off an assist from senior Sunnie Davis.
The duo connected often in Sheridan’s 3-0 home win against Lake Hamilton at Yellowjacket Arena.
Sterritt said she and Davis have good chemistry on the court.
“[We are] really good at understanding each other, taking good criticism.” Sterritt said. “Like, if my hit was some certain way, she’s able to correct me. If I need my sets some certain way, she’s able to correct me. So, just being able to take the criticism and understand one another.”
Sterritt led the Lady Jackets with 15 kills, followed by senior Addison Hill with 10. Davis assisted on 25 points.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Lake Hamilton (7-6, 5-4 in 5A-South) scored early in the first set, holding leads of 2-0 and 4-3, but Sheridan senior Lauren Arledge scored back-to-back kills to take the lead and kick start a 9-1 run.
Sheridan (15-4, 6-3) coach Emily Grimmett said she changed the lineup for this game so Hill would be in position to score early with Sterritt rotating into position later. Hill scored 2 kills early before Sterritt got going.
“My mindset kind of was, if we could get the lead with Addi up on the front row to start, and then Skylar comes around, and she has like a 46-47 percent kill rate,” Grimmett said. “I thought if we could get the lead with Addi, then we’re definitely going to win it with Skylar on the second rotation through.”
The Lady Jackets dominated the rest of the set, though Lake Hamilton fought off four set points before a service error clinched the 25-16 set win for Sheridan.
Sheridan quickly took control in the second, leading 8-1 early. Lake Hamilton didn’t let the deficit grow much bigger but couldn’t recover. Hill scored the set-clinching kill off a Davis assist as Sheridan won 25-14.
When these two teams met earlier this season in Pearcy, Sheridan won the first two sets but lost the third before winning the match in the fourth. Grimmett said she challenged her team not to let that happen again entering the third.
“We have to have the finish mentality,” Grimmett said. “We haven’t yet proven, hey, we can win two sets and then go sweep somebody of any caliber. So, I really just kind of put it in their hands. What kind of team are you? What kind of athlete are you? Let’s go learn how to finish, and they showed me that they could tonight. So, I was proud of them.”
Sheridan quickly pulled ahead 6-2 in the third. Lake Hamilton cut it to 9-8 but couldn’t tie it. The Lady Wolves hung around, but Sheridan used a 4-0 run to reach match point. Lake Hamilton scored late, but Sterritt and Davis hooked up to finish the match with a 25-18 win in the third.
This win puts the Lady Jackets alone in third place in the conference.