MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Chattanooga teams won four of five opening round matches here at the state volleyball tournament Wednesday.
Boyd-Buchanan and Signal Mountain both won their opening matches here in the morning session while Baylor and Ooltewah both prevailed in their first match as well.
Red Bank is the only team to get beat in the first round as the Lionettes dropped a 3-1 decision to Page after winning the first set.
The Lionettes lived to play another day after beating Dyersburg in the losers bracket by a 3-1 margin. Red Bank won the first two sets by scores of 25-19 and 25-22 before Dyersburg rallied for a 25-12 win in the third set. Then Red Bank advanced with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.
"I'm tired as we just got off the court," Red Bank coach Mandi Munn said shortly before midnight.
"We put ourselves in some tough situations today and it was rough. We made way too many errors and didn't play Red Bank volleyball in either match. I guess that we just had more heart in that last match as we didn't play a whole lot better than in the first.
"But I told our girls that we just have to put this behind us, let it go, refocus and get ready for more on Thursday," Munn added after the Lionettes had improved to 23-25.
Life wasn't quite as pleasant in the second round as Boyd-Buchanan, Signal Mountain and Ooltewah were all sent to the losers bracket.
The Lady Bucs, the defending state runner-up in Class A, had no trouble disposing of Eagleville, winning 3-0 by scores of 25-15, 25-16 and 25-16.
"We looked a little nervous before we started, but we didn't play that way," said Boyd-Buchanan coach Ashley Rose.
"We got ahead from the start and stayed there," she added.
The Lady Bucs then lost to South Greene in the semifinals. The Lady Rebels, now 37-2, had advanced with a victory over Trinity Christian. South Greene won by scores of 25-23, 28-26 and 25-16.
"I hope that last match will serve as a good wake-up call," Rose said after the loss to South Greene.
"Unlike our first match when we led early, we played from behind most of the time in an already-pressure situation. Nobody is giving away sets at this point, but we'll have a tough day tomorrow," she added.
In the Class AA competition, Signal Mountain had a little tougher time getting past Crockett County, but the Lady Eagles perservered and were victorious in the 3-2 match, winning by scores of 25-8, 18-25, 25-22, 19-25 and 15-8.
"I wouldn't say that we had fun, but we won and that's all that matters," said Signal Mountain coach Jennifer Redman after her team had improved to 34-21.
"We were playing not to lose. We weren't aggressive at all until the final set," Redman added.
The Lady Eagles then dropped a 3-0 match to Sullivan South as the Lady Rebels improved to 45-8 with the 25-16, 25-9, 25-14 victory.
"We just got our butts spanked by a much better team," said Redman later after having time to assess the 3-0 whipping her team had just received.
"Sullivan South is a very good team and they'll probably win our division, but they hit it harder than any team we've faced all year and we simply didn't have any answers for anything they did," Redman added.
Baylor needed four sets to defeat St.
Benedict, but the Lady Red Raiders improved to 40-7 with the 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 25-20 victory over the Lady Eagles.
Baylor will face St. Agnes in a match that will be played on Thursday afternoon at 12:30 (EST) at Stewarts Creek High School.
"It's always nice to get a win in the first match, but we play St. Agnes tomorrow and it will be another tough battle," said Baylor coach Sarah Lail after she scouted the St. Agnes-Ensworth match.
"That's what the state tournament is all about. We came out strong against St. Benedict as we passed well and connected with our hitters. We got behind in the third set and made a nice comeback, but couldn't quite make up the difference.
"But we got back on track in the fourth set as we knew we had to get the job done," Lail added.
Gabby Gray and Rachel Ford set the pace for Baylor up front with 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Haven Bethune had a big match with 34 assists and 17 digs while Lilly Turner had 30 digs.
Ooltewah improved to 44-10 with the 3-1 win over Siegal, winning by scores of 23-25, 25-23, 25-20 and 25-13, but the Lady Owls ran into a tough Brentwood team in Wednesday's second match and came out on the short end of the 25-19, 25-13, 25-16 match.
"We played well and showed a lot of enthusiasm in the first match against Siegel, but we were flat in the match with Brentwood," said Ooltewah coach Elaine Peigen, her team now 45-11 after Wednesday''s split.
"Winning our first match was big. We have to serve and pass well tomorrow," she added.
Boyd-Buchanan faces Loretto on Thursday at 12:30 (EST) while Baylor will tangle with St. Agnes at the same time. Both matches will be played at Stewarts Creek High School.
Ooltewah will challenge Dobyns-Bennett at 11 Chattanooga time at Siegel while Signal Mountain and Red Bank square off at 12:30 at Blackman.
If Baylor wins, they advance to Friday's championship match. If the Lady Raiders lose, they will play the Ensworth-St. Benedict winner at 3:30 at Stewarts Creek.
Boyd-Buchanan, Red Bank, Signal Mountain and Ooltewah could possibly play three matches on Thursday, but with each already having one loss, another would end their season.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS VS. CROCKETT CO.
Aryn Sanders -- 31 digs, 4 aces;
Kennady Collick -- 11 digs, 6 kills, 1 block;
Aubrie Johnson -- 5 kills, 4 blocks;
Taelor Kellum -- 27 kills, 3 aces, 5 blocks, 8 digs;
Hallie Hunt -- 4 aces, 10 digs, 4 kills, 1 block;
Amanda Thielges -- 40 assists, 22 digs, 1 ace;
Carolynn Thielges -- 7 digs;
Natalie Greve -- 6 digs, 1 block;
Kira Carlton -- 8 digs.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS VS. SULLIVAN SOUTH:
Aryn Sanders -- 7 digs;
Kennady Collick -- 2 kills, 2 digs;
Aubrie Johnson -- 3 blocks;
Taelor Kellum -- 5 kills 2 digs, 3 blocks;
Hallie Hunt -- 2 kills, 5 digs, 1 ace;
Amanda Thelges -- 5 digs;
Carolynn Thielges -- 11 assists, 2 kills, 8 digs.
BAYLOR STATS VS. ST. BENEDICT:
Greyson Ingle -- 5 blocks, 1 assist, 1 dig;
Jane Wilson -- 2 kills, 1 block, 2 digs;
Haven Bethune -- 3 aces, 2 kills, 1/2 block, 34 assists, 17 digs;
Cassie Elrod -- 1 ace, 11 digs;
Lilly Turner -- 1 ace, 30 digs;
Sarah Sumida -- 2 aces, 2 digs;
Gabby Gray -- 1 ace, 16 kills, 1.5 blocks, 1 assist, 4 digs;
Lexy Hellerstedt -- 6 kills, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 2 digs;
Rachel Ford -- 2 aces, 13 kills, 8 digs.
BOYD-BUCHANAN STATS VS. EAGLEVILLE
Madison Balthrop -- 5 digs;
Lauren Van Eaton -- 3 digs, 2 kills;
Sarah Emrey -- 6 digs, 2 kills, 1 assist;
Katie Delay -- 31 digs, 9 aces;
Asia Kirkman -- 10 kills, 1 ace;
Kristen Reynolds -- 7 digs, 8 kills, 14 assists, 2 aces;
Allie Ray -- 1 dig, 1 kill, 1 assist;
Sydney Spencer -- 4 digs, 5 kills, 2 aces;
Halie Williamson -- 3 digs, 10 assists, 5 aces;
Sarah Keller -- 5 digs.
BOYD-BUCHANAN STATS VS. SOUTH GREENE:
Madison Balthrop -- 4 digs, 1 ace;
Lauren Van Eaton -- 4 kills;
Sarah Emrey -- 7 digs, 6 kills;
Katie Delay -- 44 digs, 1 ace;
Asia Kirkman -- 5 digs, 8 kills, 2 aces;
Kristen Reynolds -- 6 digs, 11 kills, 14 assists, 2 aces;
Allie Ray -- 1 kill, 2 assists;
Sydney Spencer -- 1 dig, 8 kills, 1 assist;
Halie Williamson -- 4 digs, 17 assists, 1 ace.
OOLTEWAH STATS VS. SIEGEL
Sloan Sullivan -- 8 kills, 12 digs, 3 aces, 1 block;
Josie Cain -- 11 digs, 1 kill;
Courtlyn Ison -- 14 kills, 9 blocks;
Alex Biro -- 6 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks;
Summer Williams -- 3 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace;
Bethany Spange -- 4 digs, 1 ace, 5 kills, 1.5 blocks;
Hanna Matthews -- 7 digs, 29 assists, 2 blocks, 1 kill;
Sidney Killingsworth -- 6 kills, 2 blocks;
Kailin Higgins -- 2 digs, 1 ace.
OOLTEWAH STATS VS. BRENTWOOD:
Sloan Sullivan -- 3 kills, 8 digs;
Josie Cain -- 2 digs, 2 aces;
Courtlyn Ison -- 5 kills, 4 blocks;
Alex Biro -- 4 kills, 1 dig;
Summer Williams -- 1 kill, 1 dig, 2 aces;
Bethany Spange -- 2 digs, 3 kills;
Hanna Matthews -- 3 digs, 14 assists, 1/2 block;
Sidney Killingsworth -- 2 kills, 1 dig, 2.5 blocks;
Kailin Higgins -- 2 digs, 2 aces.
RED BANK STATS VS. PAGE
Kiki Adkins -- 14 digs, 1 ace;
Autumn Babb -- 38 digs;
Caitlyn Jenkins -- 7 kills;
Allison Walker -- 8 kill;
Abby Graham -- 9 kills, 18 digs, 21 assists;
Rachel Thornbury -- 12 digs, 8 assists, 1 ace;
Hannah Wilson -- 21 digs, 1 ace;
Dani Usher -- 5 kills, 3 blocks;
Jasmine Simpson -- 8 kills, 2 blocks;
Marjorie Smith -- 3 kills, 1 block.
RED BANK STATS VS. DYERSBURG:
Abby Graham -- 9 kills, 20 digs, 20 assists;
Kiki Adkins --16 digs;
Autumn Babb -- 38 digs;
Caitlyn Jenkins -- 8 kills, 1 block, 7 digs;
Allison Walker -- 5 kills, 5 digs;
Rachel Thornbury -- 21 digs, 13 assists;
Hannah Wilson -- 22 digs;
Dani Usher -- 3 kills, 1 block;
Jasmine Simpson -- 11 kills, 1 block;
Marjorie Smith -- 8 kills, 3 blocks.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)