The Boyd-Buchanan Lady Bucs earned the right to host a Class A sectional volleyball match on Thursday night after beating Sale Creek in the Region 3-A final Tuesday night at Silverdale.
Unfortunately, due to previous plans involving a middle school play, the Boyd-Buchanan gymnasium wasn't available and coach Ashley Rose had to make other arrangements.
They played against Jackson County in the gym at Arts & Sciences and it must have felt like home as the Lady Bucs advanced to next week's state tournament with a 3-0 victory, winning by scores of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-23.
"We're to the point in our season where we aren't real familiar with our opponents, so we just have to adjust as we go," Rose said after her team had improved to 30-13.
"They weren't tall at all, but they were extremely quick. I was worried that we might not be able to stay with them, but fortunately, we didn't have to play a fourth set.
"There were a lot of long rallies, but I thought we played very well. It was really a fast-paced match and Jackson County was a scrappy team. I'm just thankful that they let us use their gym," Rose added.
Madison Howard was the leader up front for the Lady Bucs with 18 kills while Jessica Kirk and Sydney Spencer had nine and eight kills, respectively.
Katie Delay had 28 digs for the Lady Bucs while Lindsey Yates and Kristen Reynolds both had 24 assists.
While Boyd-Buchanan can keep playing for another week, the fate wasn't as good for the Sale Creek Lady Panthers, who had the misfortune of traveling to Lebanon to face the defending state champion Friendship Christian.
The Lady Commanders, improving to 53-4, defeated the Lady Panthers in three straight, winning by scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-18.
Sale Creek finishes another outstanding season at 32-16.
BOYD-BUCHANAN STATS:
Emily Ann Ray -- 1 kill;
Mandi Jones -- 17 digs, 6 kills;
Jessica Kirk -- 9 digs, 9 kills;
Lauren Van Eaton -- 1 dig, 4 kills;
Kristen Reynolds -- 9 digs, 7 kills, 24 assists;
Sarah Cupp -- 6 digs;
Lindsey Yates -- 4 digs, 24 assists;
Madison Howard -- 18 kills, 7 digs;
Sydney Spencer -- 1 dig, 8 kills;
Katie Delay -- 28 digs.
SALE CREEK STATS:
Erin Hill -- 17 kills, 20 digs, 2 aces, 3 blocks;
Krissy Hodge -- 9 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks;
Mikayla Crowder -- 2 blocks;
Megan Storey -- 1 kill, 3 digs, 23 assists;
Brooke Welch -- 5 digs.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)