He may be in only his first year heading the Christ the King girls volleyball team, but Bob Mackey is far from a novice when it comes to coaching.
Mackey, who is also the coach of the school's powerhouse girls basketball team, is getting back to the drawing board as his new squad experiences the growing pains of a coaching change.
"The hard part is that we only started doing this in August. This wasn't necessarily what was planned," Mackey said. "We were really hoping it would be a smoother transition. But they're some great kids and it's a building process."
Christ the King came into Wednesday's match-up against CHSAA rival Bishop Kearney desperate for a win and got one, beating the Tigers 25-19, 25-15, 13-25, 25-16 in Brooklyn.
Bishop Kearney established a foothold early on, knocking off eight consecutive points. But much like they would be throughout the day, the Royals were there to answer, closing out the first set on 13-2 run.
Christ the King senior captain Christina Juran was story of the day for the Royals, dominating at key aspects of the match. Juran finished with nine kills, 14 digs, one ace, and one block on the day.
"Christina was all over the place. She really wanted to get a win tonight," Mackey said. "I thought she played extraordinarily well today. That's what you expect from a senior and a captain."
