09/11/2026
The last three weeks could have felt like a long, winding road for the Lady Hawks. So far this season, it seems they’ve played volleyball matches everywhere but at home.
Yes, they opened the season with home matches against Middleton on Aug. 18 and North Side on Aug. 20, then played that weekend just down the road at the Freed-Hardeman tournament. But beginning Aug. 24 at Liberty, the Lady Hawks played six consecutive road matches.
“Going on the road is a disadvantage for us because our student section is a really big part of our game due to the energy and noise that they bring,” said Amear’ra Cook, a senior outside hitter. “Going to away games, it’s hard for us to catch that energy and not have as many supporters when we travel.”
But South Side vs. North Side will always be South Side vs. North Side, regardless of which end of Highland hosts the match.
“The energy every time we play North Side is through the roof,” added Cook, who led the Lady Hawks in both kills and aces during a 3-1 District 12-2A victory Thursday night at North Side.
“It’s different all the way around when we play North Side,” she said. “It’s not just like another game.”
Those fans who attended Thursday night saw the Lady Hawks finish with 30 kills, led by Cook’s 16. Zandria Cohill, a senior middle hitter, recorded five kills, while Reginae Neeley, a sophomore middle hitter, added four.
Cook also delivered eight of the Lady Hawks’ 31 aces. Junior right-side hitter Kyleigh Weaver contributed seven aces, junior libero Ava Laster had six and Isabella Carter, a senior setter, added five.
“We played pretty well to start off but lost focus in the third set and missed too many serves,” Lady Hawks coach John Weeks said.
Conceded Cook: “We were expecting to go out there and do what we did the first two sets, but we had too many hiccups with serves and hitting errors.
For his part, Weeks was pleased with the Lady Hawks’ fourth-set adjustments to secure the match.
“We’ve had moments where we compete well against some of the best teams in our district but seem to struggle in our failure-to-recover mindset as individuals,” he said. “We still have a lot of matches left and have been primarily on the road so far, so we are looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd.”
That home crowd – particularly the student section – was loud and proud during the first two home matches in August. In fact, during one of those matches, there was apparent confusion among officials and opposing coaches about how much noise the student section could make and how its members could make it.
“The student section actually got in trouble a few times due to the energy they had,” Cook said. “Opposing coaches obviously wouldn’t like it.”
At least not when they’re on the road and on the receiving end. Back home in their own gyms, complaining coaches appreciate that same noise from their crowds. But even during the long road stretch, Lady Hawks fans continued to show up for the team.
“I would like to give a shout-out to all of our students in the cheering section who were in attendance for last night’s match,” Weeks said. “They were loud, supportive, energetic and made a great atmosphere for our players. I can’t express how important it is to see peer fans cheering on our student-athletes. It truly makes a difference. I hope to see many of them tonight at the football game.”
And at Monday’s home volleyball match against Scotts Hill.
The junior varsity match begins at 4:30 p.m., with the varsity match to follow. It will begin a seven-match homestand for the Lady Hawks. Their only remaining road match is scheduled for Sept. 29 at Middleton, followed by postseason tournament play.
“It’s going to be a really big advantage for us being at home,” Cook said, appealing to the fans. “Give us that home-court advantage. These are going to be great games to come watch.”
The other remaining home matches are against McNairy Central on Sept. 15, Lexington on Sept. 17, Liberty on Sept. 18, Hardin County on Sept. 22, Scotts Hill on Sept. 24 and Chester County on Sept. 28.
