The Lady Whippets of Kosciusko High School were hoping to put an exclamation to their 2019 season as they took part in the MHSAA State Tournament on Wednesday in a game that was played after the Star-Herald’s press deadline for this week.
Greenwood is 13-2 on the season and a perfect 4-0 in Region 4-3A matches. KHS head coach Lauren Peresich said she hasn’t had any film to scout the Lady Bulldogs, but they do have a common opponent in Louisville.
“I have not seen any film, the only thing I have is they played Louisville, and we did, too,” Peresich said. “All (Louisville) said was they’re pretty good. So we don’t really know. I’ve just told my girls to play every game like it’s the last, and in this instance, it really could be. So I’m hoping that they come out and play really hard so it doesn’t have to be the last game.”
Kosciusko’s opening-round playoff match at Greenwood was set to begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Last week Kosciusko fell 3-1 to Winston Academy on Senior Night on Thursday by scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-16. The Lady Whippets grabbed a 29-27 win in the third set.
The loss snapped a two-week winning streak by Kosciusko that included wins against Yazoo City and Columbus. Thursday’s Kosciusko-Winston Academy matchup was the second of the season. The Lady Whippets earned a 3-2 win on Sept. 5.
“My girls played hard and gave what they could, so I’m not upset with their performance,” Peresich said. “I think they did what they could do.”
Kosciusko (7-5, 4-2 Region 4-4A) was set to conclude the regular season on Tuesday against Noxapater. The Lady Whippets fell to Noxapater, 3-0, in their first-ever competitive volleyball match on Aug. 15.
“I haven’t seen Noxapater since the first game of the season,” Peresich said. “However, the girls have been working on some drills to try to step it up a little bit. We did a lot of work on Friday.”
Peresich also opened the gym on Saturday to give her players could get some extra practice ahead of the final week of the regular season. Their playoff preparation has been ramped up because their postseason contest against Greenwood was moved up to Wednesday from Thursday.
“I feel like it’s a good thing that we have Noxapater on Tuesday,” Peresich said. “It will give them a little bit of a refresher on games. I keep telling them, ‘We’ve come this far, don’t stop now.’ Just encouraging them, telling them we’ve got this and to believe in themselves.”
