Baylor Beats Briarcrest For Shot At Father Ryan, DII-AA State Volleyball Title

Lady Red Raiders Post Impressive 3-1 Win In Loser's Bracket Final

  • Thursday, October 23, 2014
  • Larry Fleming

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – OK, Father Ryan. 

Baylor’s still hanging around.

The Lady Red Raiders stormed past Briarcrest, 3-1, Thursday in the loser’s bracket final at Siegel Middle School and advanced to Friday’s Division II-AA volleyball tournament championship match.

The set scores were 26-24, 25-15, 24-26, 25-15.

The Lady Red Raiders lost to Father Ryan, 3-1, in the opening round and will have another shot the Lady Irish at noon CDT at Siegel High School, which plays host to all five title matches.

One thing on Baylor’s mind will be trying to slow down Father Ryan’s junior hitter Lauren Dorrell, who riddled the Lady Raiders with 27 kills the previous day.

“We have to defend (Dorrell) better,” said Baylor’s Haven Bethune, who had nine kills, 21 assists and 13 digs in the win over Briarcrest.

“She’s not impossible (to defend). We can get her, but we have to play together as a team, fight harder and focus on defending their big hitters.”

Baylor (42-9) will be seeking its third state title when it takes on Father Ryan (46-9). The Lady Irish, who rallied from two sets down to beat Briarcrest, 3-2 (22-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-11, 15-9), Thursday morning, has won four previous state titles, the last coming in 2006.

The Lady Raiders last won it all in 1998.

To reach their ultimate goal, however, the Lady Raiders have to contend with a team on a roll.

“We definitely want to play them again,” Baylor coach Sarah Lail said. “They are a high-quality team and we’re getting them on the big state in the big show.  We need to work on our defense and try to stop (Dorrell).”

Before Baylor secured a fourth crack at Father Ryan this season, it had to get past the Lady Saints.

In the first set, 90 minutes late starting due to a five-set Division II-A match that went long, Baylor fell behind 17-10, but the Lady Raiders started pecking away at the deficit.

Baylor went on a 6-1 run and sliced the Lady Saints’ lead to 18-16. Outside hitter Gabby Gray, a sophomore, had two kills, Ashleigh Cook’s kill capped a sterling back-and-forth volley and Bethune had a kill in the gap-closing spree. The key stretch also saw Briarcrest sandwiching two unforced errors around Kendall Strand’s kill.

After Gray’s second kill, Briarcrest coach Carla Anderton called a timeout to steady her squad.

Gray got a scoring tip and the Lady Raiders were within 18-7. A few minutes later the match was tied at 20-all.

Still tied at 21-21, Bethune scored on a kill and Cook added a tap for a two-point edge.

Strand’s kill tied the match at 24-24, but Gray sealed it with a kill and tap at the net.

Baylor had the upper hand for most of the second set, building 15-9, 18-12 and 21-14 advantages.

Sarah Sumida notches a service point, Bethune followed with a push and slap shot, so perfectly placed that the best a Briarcrest could do was hit the ball into the rafters, the change of direction coming down confusing the entire Lady Saints team.

A Briarcrest error and Madisen Morris’ shot into the net gave the set to Baylor for a 2-0 lead.

Briarcrest broke a 15-15 tie when Gray’s kill was returned and miscommunication on Baylor’s part led to a go-ahead point.

On the play, Baylor’s Cassie Elrod suffered a left knee injury, went to the bench and watched the rest of the action with an ice pack wrapped around the knee.

“We worked hard and did well overcoming the injury and shuffling of the lineup,” Bethune said.

Neither team had more than a one-point lead down the stretch. In fact, the set was tied 24-24 after Cook’s serve sailed over the backline.

Gray’s kill was long.

Strand scored the 26th point on a serve.

That set up the fourth – and final – set.

Gray’s strong serve gave Baylor a 10-4 cushion, but an errant return of a Briarcrest shot allowed the Lady Saints to close within 11-9.

A 6-1 Baylor run opened a 17-10 lead and the margin widened to 20-11 when Cook blocked Strand’s kill shot.

A Cook block and Gray kill gave the Lady Raiders a 22-13 advantage. They got the 23rd point when Briarcrest’s Callie Anderton’s serve was long.

“We knew what we had to do,” Lail said. “We stayed calm with intensity and kept our composure today. I thought we stayed level-headed after we got down in the first set. Then we started chipping away.”

Now, there’s one more objective: Avenge the Father Ryan loss and claim that third state championship.

“I’m so excited,” said Bethune, a junior. “I hope we can do it this year.”

STATISTICS

Baylor

Jane Wilson – 4 kills, 3 blocks

Haven Bethune – 9 kills, 21 assists, 13 digs

Cassie Elrod – 1 assist, 5 digs

Lily Turner – 28 digs

Sarah Sumida – 1 kill, 16 assists, 10 digs

Gabby Gray – 3 aces, 20 kills, 1 block, 12 digs

Ashleigh Cook – 2 aces, 5 kills, 3 blocks, 4 digs

Lexy Hellerstedt – 2 aces, 8 kills, 4 digs

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)

 

 

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