It looks so simple.
Four bounces, a short toss, an angled arm, and an explosion.
When everything is working right, Natalie Hardy’s serves can be a challenge to receive.
The sophomore right-hander’s offerings helped set the tone Thursday night for the Heritage Academy volleyball team. Hardy served the first 12 points to set Heritage Academy on its way to a 3-0 victory against New Hope High School at the Mississippi University for Women’s Stark Recreation Center. Set scores were 25-14, 25-20, 25-13.
Hardy missed the first two sets of Heritage Academy’s 3-2 loss to Caledonia High on Tuesday. Judging from her serving Thursday night, Hardy’s serving might have made a difference in that match. She showed against New Hope she has a routine down, even after recently changing her serve.
“I used to just stand at the line,” Hardy said. “Now I just step into it.”
Heritage Academy co-coaches Liz Fields and Liz Byrne said Hardy’s ability to transfer her weight and have her momentum going forward has enabled her to deliver projectiles that appear to come from a howitzer. The line drives come from a compact toss that isn’t too high. Her arm angle isn’t as pronounced as senior Alex Kloor, who draws her right arm back as if she is going to shoot an arrow. Hardy’s form also is different than Allie Allsup, who tosses the ball a little higher and then appears to slap it over the net.
Fields and Byrne said it is difficult to alter a player’s technique once they have gotten used to doing it that way. Even though an unusual looking serve technically might not be the best way to do it, they said they will offer pointers but will try to help the player develop greater consistency.
“Everyone serves differently,” Byrne said.
Said Fields, “Every girl has different strengths, too. Some girls have the strength so they don’t have to have a lot of weight transfer. Some don’t. Some we tell to take a step. It is about mastering the toss. It can’t be too high or too low. It really is all in the toss.”
Tennis has helped Hardy’s serving on the volleyball court. She said the similar movement in how she serves on the tennis court has helped her on the volleyball court. She also doesn’t know how she has settled on four bounces before she serves. When she gets to the service line, she tries not to think about all of the details. She just puts it all together and hopes it helps her team score a point.
“When I would toss it higher, it would kind of go out,” Hardy said. “When I would toss it lower, I would swing down and it would hit the ground. I hope for it to go on a line drive. I don’t think I have had 12 in a row this season. It pumps me up, and I get nervous, too.”
In the first set, she had six aces in a run in which New Hope had trouble getting a good pass off the serve receive. New Hope coach Laura Lee Holman said Hardy’s serving deflated her team, but she was proud to see her first-year players regroup in the second set.
A kill and a block by junior D.J. Sanders, who was seeing her first action with the team, energized the Lady Trojans and their fans, and helped the team forge a tie at 18.
“I think they did more than I could ask them to do in the second set,” Holman said. “Heritage is a very, very well-coached team. I was just glad we were able to stay on the floor with them.
“I was very proud of my girls’ effort tonight. It was D.J.’s first night ever on the volleyball court. I think that block (of Sesser) gave us some momentum and took some of the intimidation out of it. I think it helped us realize we could win this game.”
Holman said serving can be a strong point, but it also can be a weakness. She said she is going to encourage her players to make sure they keep the ball in play and attempt to force the other team to make a mistake.
Heritage Academy capitalized on a missed serve, New Hope’s fourth of the set, to take a 21-19 lead. A kill by Kristen Phillips, who played last season with Heritage Academy, cut the lead in half, but the Lady Patriots pulled away thanks to a net infraction, a kill by Harli Sesser (seven kills), a service ace, and another net infraction.
Hardy missed a serve to start the third set. She later served wide with her team leading 20-8, but she said she was pleased she could help her team in a competitive match that helped push its record to 4-2.
Fields and Byrne said the team often practices tossing the ball and having it land right in front of their foot before they start serving. With a solid foundation, the coaches agree players won’t have to worry about reaching too far in front or too far behind them to get the ball over the net.
Fields and Byrne said Hardy have preached to their players it is crucial to keep it simple. If they do that, odds are the ball will stay in play.
That strategy worked well for Hardy on Thursday, and Fields and Byrne hope it continues.
“Natalie is a great server,” Byrne said. “It is when she misses, that’s when she rushes. When she takes her time, it pretty much goes in every time. She usually has a rocket She has a great serve.”
n Starkville 3, Amory 0: At Amory, The Lady Yellow Jackets (5-3, 1-0 Region 2, Class 2) breezed to a sweep Thursday night. Set scores were 25-5, 25-8, and 25-8.
The victory was the team’s fourth in a row.
“We have been playing a lot better,” Starkville coach Lauren Love said. “Our communication has been much improved. The key to volleyball is communicating and everybody being in the right spots. The attitude and communication has improved tremendously since the first of the year.”
Courtney Wilson paced Starkville with seven service aces. Michaela Mills added six service aces.
“Our service game was dominant,” Love said. “That is what gave us separation in the match.”
Starkville travels Saturday to the 13th Tupelo VolleyFest. Played on the campus of Tupelo High School, Starkville will open with Lewisburg at 10:15 a.m. In another schedule note, the Caledonia at Starkville High match has been rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday on the SHS campus.
Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters contributed to this report.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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