Signal Mountain Falls In State Volleyball Semis

Lady Eagles Rally To Beat Page Before Falling To CAK

  • Thursday, October 23, 2014
  • John Hunt

SMYRNA, Tenn. – It’s a good thing that Signal Mountain volleyball coach Jennifer Redman is a young lady because her heart might not be able to stand the pressure if she wasn’t.

Redman’s Lady Eagles were thisclose to being sent to the loser’s bracket in the opening round of the State Volleyball Tournament here at Stewarts Creek High School Wednesday afternoon.

Had it been a heavyweight fight, the referee’s count would have been at NINE, but somehow and someway, the Lady Eagles won their first match over the Page Lady Patriots.

It was a dandy match where the Lady Eagles prevailed by scores of 16-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-19 and 15-13.

The Lady Eagles also played another five-set match in the championship semifinals against Christian Academy of Knoxville, but the results weren’t as good as the Lady Warriors prevailed by scores of 20-25, 25-16, 14-25, 25-21 and 15-9.

But on a day where Class AA neighbor Red Bank lost its first match before getting eliminated in its second, the Lady Eagles climbed up off the deck and rallied for one of their most inspiring wins of the season as they improved to 43-10 with the win.

“That was awesome,” Redman blurted after walking into the hallway outside the gym to catch her breath.

“We weren’t ready to play at the start, but we finally settled down and played some pretty good volleyball.  We had to work hard, but we played as a team and I couldn’t be any more proud than I am right now.

“I just challenged my blockers as I knew we were better than what we showed in the first two sets.  But we’ve had a lot of five-set matches this season, so we’re used to them.  And I’ll bet on my team in the fifth set any time,” Redman added with confidence.

The Lady Patriots were really, really close to winning this match in three straight sets as they had a seemingly-comfortable 21-19 lead.

A service error followed by a wide return allowed the Lady Eagles to knot the score before a kill from Aubrie Johnson, a hitting error by Page, an ace by Taelor Kellum and a block from Johnson kept Signal Mountain alive.

The fourth set was close as Page scored three straight points to get within 16-15 before Redman called a timeout to regroup.  Whatever was said must have worked as the Lady Eagles got four straight service points from Hallie Hunt as that slim lead was extended to 21-15.

Another kill from Kellum sealed the deal as the momentum was clearly on Signal Mountain’s side at this point.

Page took a 3-0 lead in the fifth set, but Kellum had a stretch with three kills and a block as the Lady Eagles regained control.    Back-to-back kills by the slender senior knotted the score at 13-13 before an ace by Kennady Collick and a hitting error by Page ended the match.

Kellum finished the match with 23 kills and 19 digs in addition to four aces and three blocks.  Aryn Sanders added 26 digs while Collick finished with 16 digs and five kills.  Hunt followed with 15 digs while Amanda Thielges was credited with 31 assists.

Redman was a happy young lady after that first match, but a smiling face had turned to distress and disappointment after the loss to CAK.

With Signal holding a 2-1 lead going to the fourth set, the Lady Eagles had a chance to put the match away, but the Lady Warriors simply wouldn’t go away.

Signal Mountain was leading 21-19 and looking for all the world like they had this one under control, but the Lady Warriors turned the tide in a hurry with six-straight points to win the set and force a fifth.

An early 4-2 lead swelled to 8-3 as Redman called her second timeout, but nothing seemed to work as the Lady Warriors slowly pulled away.

“That’s so disappointing,” said the Signal Mountain coach after her team had been sent to the losers bracket where they will face the Harpeth Lady Indians on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.

(CST).

“We should have won this match in the fourth set as we were leading 21-19, but we have to want to finish.  We’ve got to learn to keep pushing and not let up when we have a lead, but we let too many balls hit the floor as we just let the other team come back.

“We live to play again tomorrow, but they had the momentum going to the fifth set and we looked like we were scared and just playing not to lose,” she added.

Kellum again set the pace for the Lady Eagles as she finished with 21 kills, 20 digs and nine blocks.

Thielges was credited with 27 assists and 20 digs while Sanders and Collick finished with 17 and 15 digs, respectively.

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS VS. PAGE

Aryn Sanders – 26 digs

Kennady Collick – 16 digs, 5 kills, 3 aces

Aubrie Johnson – 2 digs, 7 kills, 3 blocks

Taelor Kellum – 19 digs, 23 kills, 3 blocks, 4 aces

Mackenzie Lewis – 2 digs

Hallie Hunt – 15 digs, 3 aces

Sidney Lapinski – 2 digs

Amanda Thielges – 31 assists, 3 kills, 3 digs, 3 aces

Natalie Greve – 8 digs.

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS VS. CAK

Aryn Sanders – 17 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace

Kennady Collick – 15 digs, 6 kills, 2 aces

Aubrie Johnson – 2 digs, 6 kills, 1 block

Taelor Kellum – 20 digs, 21 kills, 9 blocks

Hallie Hunt – 13 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace

Sidney Lapinski – 3 digs

Amanda Thielges – 20 digs, 27 assists, 2 kills, 2 aces

Natalie Greve – 10 digs, 2 assists.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)

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