Rachel Travis could only sit and watch Tuesday night.
With her left foot in one of those walking boots, the Baylor senior had to watch from the bench as her Lady Red Raiders played arch-rival GPS in volleyball.
She suffered a sprained ankle in the final five minutes of Monday's practice and will be sidelined at least two weeks and while she might have made a difference in the big match with the Bruisers, all she could do was sit and cheer for her teammates
However, GPS improved to 12-5 overall and more importantly, 3-1 in the East-Middle Region of D-II with the 3-0 victory. Set scores were 25-17, 26-24 and 25-23.
Baylor and GPS are similar in a lot of ways. Both teams were in Nashville over the weekend for three matches and the results were the same as both teams defeated Brentwood Academy and Pope John Paul while both got beat by Harpeth Hall.
Tuesday's match was close throughout and the Bruisers had a 17-16 lead in the first set before scoring eight of the final nine points to take command.
The second and third sets were equally as close. While Baylor hung close and even appeared at times to be on the verge of breaking through, the Bruisers made the plays when they had to be made while Baylor just never got over the hump.
"For the adversity we've gone through in the last 24 hours, I'm extremely pleased with how well we played," said Baylor coach Sarah Lail, her team now 20-8 overall and 2-2 in region play.
"Rachel got hurt in the last five minutes of yesterday's practice, so this was a brand new rotation for us. We had kids in different positions, but we were still able to compete with a very good GPS team.
"Overall, I felt like we gave them everything we had, but they have a bunch of great hitters and you have to give them credit. We'll get back in the gym tomorrow to keep working and we'll keep our heads up," Lail added.
GPS coach Paul Brock has been in this situation many times before. Regardless of the lineup, he knows that the Baylor-GPS match will be close, competitive and hard-fought from the first point until the last.
"To beat Baylor on any occasion, you have to be pleased," Brock started his post-match comments.
"I'm happy with how we hit the ball today. We served aggressively as Olivia (Berger) did a great job of controlling things from the backcourt while Sara (Griffith) stepped up as well. And I thought that Reagan (Williams) ran a smart offense.
"These girls really love each other and they can play well when they make their minds up. I don't think we've played our best volleyball yet, but we just have to keep improving and we try to get back to the state tournament," he added.
Sadie Lett had her usual outstanding performance. You've heard of triple-doubles in basketball. Well, she got one in volleyball with 16 kills, 13 assists and 11 digs.
Berger finished with 11 digs, nine kills, four aces, four blocks and two assists while Williams had three kills to compliment 20 assists and 11 digs.
Rachel Ford was the leader for Baylor with eight kills and nine digs while Megan Kaylor was busy with 17 assists, seven digs, three aces and a pair of kills.
GPS returns to action on Thursday with a match at Walker Valley against the Lady Mustangs and East Ridge while both Baylor and GPS will be playing in the Tennessee Tandem here in Chattanooga on Friday and Saturday.
SILVERDALE BAPTIST ACADEMY improved to 16-7 with a 3-0 win at Oakwood Academy, winning easily by scores of 25-10, 25-21 and 25-11.
Mackenzie Harris had 21 kills while Katelyn Couch had 38 assists and Kerri Whittaker finished with 30 digs.
SODDY DAISY DROPPED a five-set match to Bradley with the Bearettes winning, 20-25, 28-26, 25-21, 16-25 and 15-12.
Alex Schafer was the leader for Soddy Daisy with 22 kills and a dozen digs while Hannah Robertson and and Rachel Hargis had 29 and 24 digs, respectively. Chloe Mitchell had a dozen digs in addition to 33 assists.
BAYLOR STATS:
Greyson Ingle -- 2 kills;
Kate Kaufman -- 3 kills, 2 digs;
Haven Bethune -- 1 ace, 6 digs, 1 kill;
Madeline Rose -- 4 kills, 8 digs;
Macall Nabors -- 13 digs, 1 ace;
Lexy Hellerstedt -- 4 kills, 5 digs;
Megan Kaylor -- 3 aces, 2 kills, 17 assists, 7 digs;
Rachel Ford -- 8 kills, 9 digs.
GPS STATS:
Caroline Vance -- 4 digs;
Destinee Lansden -- 7 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks;
Kelby Crownover -- 22 digs;
Kristen Warren -- 4 digs;
Olivia Berger -- 4 aces, 9 kills, 4 blocks, 2 assists, 11 digs;
Reagan Williams -- 3 kills, 20 assists, 11 digs;
Sadie Lett -- 16 kills, 13 assists, 11 digs, 1 ace;
Sara Griffith -- 1 ace, 3 kills, 1 block, 4 digs;
Sarah Hicks -- 3 kills, 3 blocks;
Tianna Mills -- 1 kill, 4 blocks, 4 digs.
SILVERDALE STATS:
Kerri Whittaker -- 30 digs, 2 aces;
Katelyn Couch -- 38 assists;
Mackenzie Harris -- 21 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces;
Molly Kane -- 4 kills, 3 blocks;
Hannah Mench -- 7 kills, 4 blocks;
Bryce Killingsworth -- 18 digs, 4 kills, 1 ace;
Caroline Couch -- 7 aces.
SODDY DAISY STATS:
Alex Schafer -- 2 aces, 22 kills, 12 digs;
Laura Jenkins -- 2 aces, 9 kills, 6 digs;
Rachel Hargis -- 2 aces, 1 kill, 24 digs;
Haley Reynolds -- 2 kills, 7 digs;
Hannah Robertson -- 1 ace, 29 digs;
Chloe Mitchell -- 2 aces, 33 assists, 3 kills, 12 digs;
Lauren Smith -- 3 aces, 8 kills, 26 digs;
Karigan Fulghum -- 2 kills, 2 digs.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)