Sister Volleyball Rivalry Ends in
SB JV Victory and NH Varsity Win

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

Unbiased spectators......Dusty Evans James and Debra Evans, sister and mother of Sulphur Bluff and
North Hopkins Coaches, Dee Ann Evans and Danna Evans Lewis, sat and watched the match-up
from "neutral" territory in the gym cafeteria.

 

As thunderstorms moved across Hopkins County on Friday afternoon, a "storm" that we'd wrote about a couple of weeks ago was brewing in the gym at Sulphur Bluff School. It was a volleyball match-up between the Lady Bears of Sulphur Bluff, coached by Dee Ann Evans, and the North Hopkins Lady Panthers, coached by her sister, Danna Evans Lewis. The friendly rivalry between the two neighboring schools held more intensity this year, with the two siblings facing each other across the net. However, they both shook hands and laughed, and then got down to the business of coaching their well coached teams, before a large crowd of spectators from both Hopkins County communities.

 

 

 

In the Junior Varsity match-up, it was the Lady Bears of Sulphur Bluff that defeated the Lady Panthers, in two sets of 25-9 and 25-21.

 

 

And, the suspense built as two varsity teams took the court and the storm outside intensified into a down-pour of rain outside the gym. The first set went "neck and neck" with one team holding the lead for a few moments and then the other one moving ahead, with some intense play. North Hopkins managed to pull out a victory of 25-23.

 

 

The second set proved to be in the Lady Panther's win column also, as they upset the Lady Bears with a 25-10 victory.

 

   

Sisters, Dee Ann Evans, left, coaches the Sulphur Bluff Lady Bears, and Danna Evans Lewis, right, coaches the
North Hopkins Lady Bears, in volleyball, this season.

 

However, the Lady Bears came back strong and won the third match with a 25-23 victory.

And, in the fourth set, North Hopkins' Lady Panthers sealed the victory with a 25-20 score, to claim "bragging rights" for the time being.

 

 

 

 

"I hope this don't come along very often," declared an "unbiased" Debra Evans, mother of the two coaches, as she sat in "neutral" territory and watched from a distance. "It's hard to sit and watch both of them competing against each other. I can only remember one other time that might have been worse, was once, Danna was coaching basketball, Dee Ann was officiating the game, and my youngest daughter, Dusty, was playing. That was worse!"

 

 

 

Both Dee Ann and Danna stated they were pleased with their team's effort, and hoped that the "sister rivalry" didn't exert any excess pressure on their teams. "Both of us wanted to win, but only one could walk away with the victory," expressed Dee Ann Evans. "I guess we both got a win, with my JV girls winning and Danna's varsity team claiming the victory!"

 

 

"And, Dear Ol' Dad, didn't even show up for the match!" quipped Danna Evans Lewis. "We'll have to kid him and tell him he 'chickened out!' No, seriously, he had a meeting that he had to keep and couldn't make the match-up!"

 

 

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