BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County High School volleyball team opened the 2025 season with a convincing sweep over Tolsia before falling in back-to-back matches, including a close loss to Belfry last week.
The Cardinals, coached by Krista Runyon, traveled to Fort Gay, West Virginia, on Aug. 18 and rolled to a 3-0 victory with scores of 25-13, 25-21 and 25-12.
Martin County assistant coach Brittany Tiller said communication was key in the season-opening win.
“It’s the best I’ve seen us talk,” Tiller said.
With a senior heavy team, Coach Runyon believes this year’s squad can win a lot of games.
“They came out ready to play,” Runyon said. “If that happens night in and night out, it should be a good season for us.”
The next night Martin County fell 3-0 at Belfry in a tightly contested match. The Pirates edged the Cards 27-25 in the first set, 25-20 in the second and 26-24 in the third.
Coach Runyon pointed to uncontrollable circumstances as factors in the road loss.
“Injuries and sickness got us,” she said. “We’re going to have to adjust our middle to work on blocking with the few that we have out.”
Senior Chloe May agreed that consistency will be vital as the season progresses.
“We didn’t play to our potential, there was a lack of communication and that’s key,” May said. “We need to let each other know where the ball is going. We need to keep our energy high. We have good hitters. It’s our strong suit. We just need to work on passing.”
The Cards returned home Aug. 21 for a 57th District matchup where Paintsville handed them a 3-0 loss. The Tigers controlled all three sets, 25-10, 25-12 and 25-13.
The Martin County junior varsity squad opened the week with a 2-0 win at Tolsia, taking sets 25-16 and 28-26. The Cards then fell at Belfry in three sets after winning the first 21-15, and dropping the next two 21-10, 21-15.
Back home against Paintsville, the young Cards rallied after dropping the first set 21-10 to win the next two, 21-16 and 21-13.
The Cardinals will face Paintsville again tomorrow at East Ridge in the 15th Region All ‘A’ Classic. First serve is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Martin County will then travel to Magoffin County on Tuesday, Sept. 2 for a 7 p.m. matchup.
