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Beulah started off its season on a sour note as they lost to Smiths Station in three sets.

Beulah lost the first set 13-25, the second 14-25 and they lost the last set 17-25 despite a late rally. 

Smiths Station looked strong from the start, their girls were able to pinpoint the ball to certain spots on the court where the Bobcats were not there. 

Still, Head Coach Allison Aikens thought the Bobcats showed several positive signs, and she saw improvement from where the team was last season. 

“Overall, we did ok,” Aikens said. “I thought there were some things that we did well. Our transitions looked a lot better than they have in the past. They didn’t give up, they fought and they made some plays that we did not make last year. Yes, we still have a lot of work to do, but I’m pleased for our first showing of the season.” 

Smiths Station is a tough test for any team to start the season, but Aikens believes that early test will help Beulah when they get to face their region opponents later on in the regular season. 

“Facing a team like Smiths Station is going to only help us improve when we have to go against teams like ACA and PCA,” Aikens said. 

Aikens saw a lot of room for improvement in the team’s first match of the season. 

“We need to be more consistent with our passing,” Aikens said. “We had too many balls that went behind us instead of forward. We’ve got to work on not sending so many free balls over the net. We’ve got to get more kills going for us.” 

The Bobcats had moments in each set where they looked like they could come back and win the match. The Bobcats rallied  in the second and third set, but ultimately Smiths Station was just too much to handle. 

Up next for Beulah will be a matchup against Notasulga where the Bobcats will hope to bounce back from their opening loss.