The Red Bank volleyball team is on a roll right now.
The Lionettes entered last week’s District 6-AA tournament as the third seed after losing to Central and Hixson in the regular season.
The Lionettes knocked off Central in the district semis before sweeping regular-season champ Hixson for the district tournament title last Tuesday night.
And now a week later, those same Red Bank girls are still celebrating after sweeping Hixson for the second time for the Region 3-AA title in the friendly confines of their own Susan Ingram Thurman Gymnasium.
Hixson advanced to the championship match with a 3-0 win over Polk County, winning by scores of 25-9, 25-21 and 25-11. Red Bank eliminated McMinn Central in three straight as well, winning by scores of 25-7, 25-10 and 25-7.
Both Hixson and Red Bank will play in the sectional round on Thursday with Red Bank hosting Region 4 Macon County and Hixson traveling to Signal Mountain, the Region 4 winner.
Signal Mountain defeated Livingston Academy in Tuesday's 4-AA semifinal before beating Macon County in the final. Macon County had eliminated Chattanooga Christian in the earlier 4-AA semifinal.
Thursday’s winners then advance to next week’s state tournament, which begins on Wednesday at MTSU.
With both former Red Bank coaches Thurman and Crystal Brooks watching with interest from the stands, the Lionettes proved that last week’s victory wasn’t a fluke as they again won in three straight.
Needing just 15 minutes at the start, Red Bank set the stage with a 25-9 win in the first set. The Lady Wildcats played much better after that slow start, but Red Bank seemed to have an answer at every crucial point as the Lionettes finished the match with 25-20 and 25-21 wins.
“I’m really pleased with how we played tonight. We really struggled at times this fall, but to come together and play like we’ve played in the last week has really been special,” said current Red Bank coach Mandi Munn after her team improved to 27-25 for the season.
“These girls have been under a lot of pressure to get back to state. I know we still have to win one more match to get there, but they have really played well lately. This has been our best week of the season so far.
“It’s really tough to beat a team like Hixson twice in a row. We’ve struggled at times to be consistent, but I feel like we made a step in that direction tonight. I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Munn added.
Tuesday’s match was the first for Hixson in a region final, so Thursday’s sectional match will be a new experience as well. Having to travel isn’t the best case scenario, but that doesn’t bother Hixson coach Janet Tate one bit.
“We left it out on the court as that was about all we could do with them,” she said after a brief meeting with her team following the match.
“We didn’t play very well in that first set, but we didn’t quit and that’s what I’m most proud of. We tried to split their big girls up front, but didn’t have much success doing it. The good news is that we live to play again on Thursday.
“We’re trying to set a volleyball tradition of our own and this is the next step in that process,” Tate smiled.
Red Bank had plenty of key players on Tuesday night, but none any more significant that senior Rachel Thornbury, who was named tournament MVP after collecting 20 assists and 11 digs and in general, playing heads-up volleyball from start to finish.
“We knew we couldn’t afford to overlook Hixson as they have a really good team, but we just came out and took care of business tonight,” she said after the all-tournament selections were announced.
“We just knew that we had to play our game and that’s what we did, but we felt like we had to keep our tradition going and that’s what we did. I feel like we all played well as a team,” the 17-year-old young lady concluded with a smile.
Allison Walker, Hannah Wilson and Dani Usher were also named to the All-Tournament team for Red Bank as Walker finished with eight kills and six digs. Wilson was credited with 13 digs while serving four aces. And Usher was a force at the net with four blocks in addition to three kills and three digs.
Abby Tipton, Paige Lawson and TayTay Staten were all-tournament picks for the Lady Wildcats.
Tipton had 15 digs while Lawson had four kills, two digs and two blocks. Staten finished with eight kills.
The other two all-tournament picks included Polk County’s Cecelia Waldrop and McMinn Central’s Kelsey Myers.
HIXSON STATS:
Abby Tipton – 15 digs
Paige Lawson – 1 ace, 4 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks
Bailey Burba – 2 kills, 6 digs, 8 assists
Morghan White – 5 digs
Haleigh Raber – 8 digs
TayTay Staten – 8 kills, 3 digs, 1 block
Sam Dove – 1 ace, 1 dig, 5 assists
Madison Jett – 1 kill
Courtney Jones – 3 aces, 2 kills
Dakota Rawiszer – 2 kills.
RED BANK STATS:
Caitlyn Jenkins – 5 kills, 8 digs, 1 block
Allison Walker – 8 kills, 6 digs, 1 ace
Rachel Thornbury – 1 kill, 20 assists, 1 ace, 11 digs
Hannah Wilson – 13 digs, 4 aces
Janie Smith – 3 kills, 1 block, 6 digs, 1 ace
Jasmine Simpson – 1 kill, 1 block, 5 digs
Dani Usher – 3 kills, 4 blocks, 3 digs
Marjorie Smith – 3 kills, 3 blocks, 3 aces, 3 digs.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)