Two Bedford girls competed simultaneously Monday night, one team on the turf, and on team on the court, with both squads coming out victorious in the end. (Editor’s note: About the time of the publication of this story, a score came in for the Bedford girls soccer team for the Tuesday night match. They won 11-2 again Shaw. Congratulations!)
Girls volleyball team beats Garfield Heights 2-1
The girls soccer team played Garfield Heights at Bearcat Stadium, and fell behind 1-0 by halftime. At about the time the break started, so did the rains. The downpours would continue for much of the night, but since there were no thunder or lightning, the girls trudged on in their contest.
Bedford girls’ soccer coach Chan Coleman thought the girls played a little sluggish in the first half. He told them that if the weather got worse in the second, the officials would probably call the game, so they needed to at least tie the score and do it quickly.
The team took his guidance to heart, and not only tied Garfield, but bested them by one during what turned out to be a complete, though very soggy, game.
“I feel like they answered the call and came back,” said Coleman. “Even though it was pouring down.”
Both of Bedford’s goals during the evening came from junior Nihjayla Warfield. The first was a follow-up on an original slippery shot that the Bulldogs goalie could not hold onto. The second. The second one crept into the net close to the pole for the goal. (It also happened to by Warfield’s birthday.)
Coleman said the players did a better job controlling the ball during the second half and keeping it on Garfield’s side of the field. He also said they are doing a much better keeping their spacing.
Volleyball team defeats Shaw Cardinals 3-0
Meanwhile, the Bedford girls volleyball team took the floor in Bearcat gym against the Shaw Cardinals. It wasn’t raining inside, but it was warm and humid as the girls defeated the visitors in three straight games.
The victory was a team effort, as the Bearcats played as a unit with few unforced errors during the match. The passing during their games was crisp, and there were quite a few times the setters gave the hitters excellent opportunities to spike the ball over the net with conviction.
One setter who was during a particularly good job was Carae Bryant. There were a few times where it looked liked she was going to set the ball to her teammates down the net, but actually set it behind her to Kaira Granger for kill opportunities.
Speaking of kill shots, Aubrey Parham, who was hitting from the left side, had a number of strikes over the net that Shaw was unable to return.
Bedford won the first set 25-17. In the second set, they were led by some effective serves by Kennedy Bell and Emily Rist, and the Bearcats won 25-7. The final game was closer, as Shaw waged a bit of a comeback, but fell short to Bedford 25-21
