Boyd-Buchanan coach Alfie Dodd talks to his squad after the Lady Bucs beat Loretto, 3-0, Wednesday in the TSSAA Class A state volleyball tournament at Blackman High School in Mufreesboro.
photo by Larry Fleming
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Playing what coach Alfie Dodd called a sub-par match, Boyd-Buchanan’s Lady Bucs were still good enough to sweep Loretto, 3-0, Wednesday morning in the opening match of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s Class A state volleyball tournament at Blackman High School.
Set scores were 25-19, 25-14, 25-20.
“We advance and we know we can play better,” Dodd said. “That’s a plus.”
With the win Boyd-Buchanan moved on to face Trinity Christian (40-5) in the second round.
Trinity Christian, out of Jackson, has the best record in the Class A portion of the tournament.
The Lady Bucs couldn’t muster the “better” effort that Dodd was looking for the in the quarterfinals against Trinity Christian, losing 3-1, and falling into the loser’s bracket.
The set scores were 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21.
Boyd-Buchanan’s next game will be Thursday at 11:30 a.m. CDT against South Greene (37-6). South Greene swept Middleton, 3-0, to get a shot at Boyd-Buchanan in an elimination game.
The Lady Lions were consistent in their attack on the Lady Bucs, using the strong right arm of Clare Taylor to set the pace.
After the Lady Bucs (33-15) took the second set, Trinity Christian regained control and won the final two sets.
“We’re not going to dwell on this,” Dodd said. “We’re going to enjoy tonight, celebrate Halie’s (Williamson) birthday because it’s a new day tomorrow.”
Junior Asia Kirkman was the Lady Bucs’ stalwart in the second match, coming up with a team-high 24 kills and 17 digs.
“We’ve still got a lot of energy and we have to stay up for the next match,” Kirkman said. “We’re out to win the tournament.”
Katie Delay amassed a whopping 59 digs, Kristen Reynolds had 24 assists and Halie Williamson added 22 assists. Sarah Emrey had 15 kills.
In the first set Boyd-Buchanan led early, but after tying it up at 11-all trailed the rest of the way – no more than four points, the last time at 20-16.
The Lady Bucs cut the deficit to one point on four occasions, including 24-23 on Kirkman’s kill. On the next sequence, Trinity’s Lauren Schmidt blocked a Lady Buc return shot to end the set.
Boyd-Buchanan worked into a 17-10 lead in the rebound set and was up 21-17 on another Kirkman kill.
Trinity closed to 23-22 when Emrey’s kill went long , but she came back with back-to-back kills to close it out.
Boyd-Buchanan never led in the third set and trailed by as much as 15-10. A Kirkman slap shot pulled the Lady Bucs to within 24-22, but her kill went over the sideline boundary and the Lady Lions led 2-1.
Trinity, playing in its eighth state tournament and seeking its first title, built a 22-16 lead on a Taylor kill. Kirkman had a kill and Sewell scored on a block to trim the deficit to 22-18, but a net-serve produced Trinity’s 23rd point.
When Kristen Reynolds’ kill found the net, the Lady Lions had the victory in hand.
“We’ve got a lot left to offer,” Dodd said. “We’ve not come close to playing like we’re capable of playing, but we’ve been staying in games. The girls are playing timid and flat. I think we can do better than this.”
In the first match of the day, five players –Emrey, Delay, Kirkman, Reynolds and Erin Syring – powered the Lady Bucs to the impressive victory in their seventh state tournament appearance.
Emrey, a junior, was credited with 10 kills, seven digs and 1 assists.
Delay, who leads the state in career digs and aces, finished with 23 digs and one ace.
Kirkman, a bundle of power in a 5-foot-4-inch frame, led the Lady Bucs with 11 kills and eight digs.
Reynolds, another senior, came up with three digs, three kills, 11 assists and two aces.
Syring, a 6-foot freshman, turned in a solid performance, finishing with 1 dig, six kills and one block.
“I feel much more comfortable right now than I did early in the season,” said Syring, who transferred from Hixson to Boyd-Buchanan. “I’ve gotten a lot more confidence. Being new to the school, I really didn’t know anyone when I got to Boyd-Buchanan.”
Kirkman was strong at the beginning of each of the three sets, helping the Lady Bucs gain quick control. They were constantly playing with the lead and pressured the Lady Mustangs just to stay within reach.
“This feels great,” Kirkman said of the opening-round win. “We played OK, but certainly didn’t play our best. We can do better. Our plan was to not let anything drop and stay positive.”
Staying mentally strong was a key factor in the win, Reynolds said.
“Even when we were down we stayed positive,” she said. “We didn’t know anything about Loretto. But we knew we had to play our game to win.”
STATISTICS
Boyd-Buchanan (First Match)
Madison Balthrop – 1 dig, 2 kills, 5 aces
Abbie Sewell – 1 block
Sarah Emrey – 7 digs, 10 kills, 1 assist
Katie Delay – 23 digs, 1 ace
Asia Kirkman – 8 digs, 11 kills
Kristen Reynolds – 3 digs, 3 kills, 11 assists, 2 aces
Allie Ray – 1 dig, 1 kill
Erin Syring – 1 dig, 6 kills, 1 block
Halie Williamson – 2 digs, 17 assists
Sarah Keller – 8 digs.
Boyd-Buchanan (Second Match)
Madison Balthrop – 5 digs
Abbie Sewell – 1 block
Sarah Emrey – 6 digs, 15 kills, 1 assist, 1 block
Katie Delay – 59 digs, 1 kill, 2 assists, 1 ace
Asia Kirkman – 17 digs, 24 kills
Kristen Reynolds – 9 digs, 5 kills, 24 assists
Allie Ray – 1 dig, 1 kill
Erin Syring – 6 digs, 7 kills
Halie Williamson – 5 digs, 22 assists
Sarah Keller – 10 digs
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him at Twitter @larryfleming44)