By Erik Harris
CLAY – Clay-Chalkville is officially cruising through Class 6A, Area 12 opponents thanks in large part to senior Kardasia Hitchcock’s instinctive play.
Hitchcock, a Stony Brook pledge, accomplished her 900th career dig in an area win over Huffman on Monday night. The Cougars, like they had done to their first two area opponents, disposed of the Vikings in only three sets.
The final tally read 25-13, 25-17 and 25-8 in favor of Clay-Chalkville, who already held Area 12 wins over Shades Valley and Pinson Valley.
Hitchcock, who was unaware that she was in the midst of reaching a career milestone, simply dominated the opponent.
“She’s a very aggressive player. She anticipates the next play most of the time, so she’s always in the right position and she hustles a lot,” Clay-Chalkville head coach Natasha Brown said. “Obviously that contributes to the team and game outcome.”
When asked if she knew the exact dig that pushed her to 900, Hitchcock had this to say: “No, but if I would have I feel like I would’ve been way more excited then I was at the game yesterday.”
She finished the memorable night with 16 kills and as many digs to go along with seven aces. She got plenty of help from Jaszia Bowie and Mekaila Hill who struck down eight kills apiece. Anastasia Brackin brought it all together with 30 assists for the Cougars.
On the defensive end, Raven Omar and Lexie Payne were relentless. The pair combined for 24 digs (12 each) against Huffman. Jalirea Thomason went down for another nine digs of her own. Omar also matched Hitchcock’s team-high seven aces.
Although Hitchcock finds excitement in reaching the 900-dig mark, she isn’t at all satisfied with her current career totals. She expects bigger and better before her prep days become memories.
“Now that I have 900 (digs), I’ll reach for 1,000. When I hit 1,000 I’ll probably feel relieved,” Hitchcock said on Tuesday.
Brown believes her senior can reach 1,000 digs in this her final season with Clay-Chalkville.
“Absolutely, she’s the type of person that always wants more, so I’m not surprised that she’s not satisfied with just getting 900,” Brown said. “It won’t shock me that she’ll finish the season with 1,000 digs and or kills.”
Follow Erik Harris on Twitter @jeharris2.