Signal Mountain Wins 7-AA Volleyball Over Notre Dame

Rackel, Johnson Lead Lady Eagles To 3-1 Victory After Losing First Set

  • Thursday, October 8, 2015
  • John Hunt
Signal's Aryn Sanders and Nicole Terfloth. go for the ball.
Signal's Aryn Sanders and Nicole Terfloth. go for the ball.
photo by Greg Davick

Notre Dame and Signal Mountain seem to bring out the best in each other, at least when the sport is volleyball.

These were the top two teams in District 7-AA this fall.  Signal got the top seed based on its 3-0 win at Notre Dame after the Lady Irish had taken a 3-1 match at Signal early in the season.

But with all the chips on the line for the 7-AA tournament championship, it was the Lady Eagles who prevailed.

Improving to 31-19 overall, Signal Mountain lost the first set by a 27-25 score before winning the last three by scores of 25-23, 25-16 and 25-22.

"That was awesome," said Signal Mountain coach Jennifer Redman after the team hardware had been distributed.

"I'm really proud of the effort we showed in fighting back and winning in four sets.  It was intense the entire match, but it always is when we're playing Notre Dame.  This is much nicer as they beat us the last time we played in this gym," the veteran coach remembered.

When asked about the improved play of Aubrie Johnson and Maia Rackel, Redman just smiled.

"Maia is our workhorse, but she certainly doesn't play like a sophomore.  She's really mentally tough and always wants the ball.  And as you can tell, she's our cheerleader on the court.  She and Aubrie challenge each other every day and have made each other better.  They both played really well tonight," the coach nodded.

It was a real battle up front with Signal Mountain's Johnson and Rackel going toe to toe with Notre Dame's Kaylee Stone and Tess Scobey.

Johnson and Rackel both had 17 kills while Stone and Scobey countered with 17 and 10, respectively.  Scobey also had eight blocks.

But in a match where Notre Dame rallied from a 22-16 deficit in the first set to win 27-25, the Lady Irish just didn't have enough comebacks to pull it out.

Signal Mountain scored six of the first seven points in the second set before Notre Dame started its comeback.  A hitting error by the Lady Eagles allowed Notre Dame to take a 19-17 lead, but a kill from Rackel and an ace from Johnson knotted the score at 19-all.

The score was tied four more times in that set alone before the Lady Eagles scored the final two points to win and even the match at one set apiece.

It looked like Signal Mountain would run away with the third set as a block by Johnson and 10 straight service points from Nicole Terfloth gave the Lady Eagles a seemingly-comfortable 11-0 lead, but six straight service points from Ragen Dobson allowed the Lady Irish to get right back in it.

Notre Dame got to within four points at 11-7 and again at 15-11, but Johnson had three kills and Rackel one at the end as the Lady Eagles got the upper hand with the win in the third set.

Notre Dame got three kills from Stone and another from Maggie Martin for a quick 8-4 lead in the fourth set, but the Lady Eagles didn't panic.

Another kill from Stone and a hitting error by the Lady Eagles allowed Notre Dame's lead to stretch to 18-12, but that's when the Lady Eagles started playing smarter volleyball.

Three kills from Johnson and five straight service points from Kennady Collick allowed the Lady Eagles to take a 20-19 lead by scoring eight of the next nine points.

Scobey's kill knotted the score at 21 for the Lady Irish before back-to-back kills from Rackel gave the momentum back to Signal Mountain.

A hitting error by the Lady Eagles kept the Lady Irish alive at 24-22, but Rackel notched her 17th kill to clinch the win for the home team.

"It's hard to win a district tournament championship when you make that many unforced errors," said Notre Dame coach Robin Moore after her team's record dropped to 15-10.

 "It's not over, so we'll regroup and be back.  We aren't ready to quit playing as we fought back all match long.  We have a never give up spirit about us and that's what I love about these girls.  I'm proud of where we are right now and the progress they've made this fall.

"We'll be back ready to play on Tuesday," she said, knowing that her team will face the District 8 champion in one semifinal at Signal Mountain in the Region 4-AA tournament.

NOTRE DAME STATS:

Ragen Dobson -- 1 kill, 25 assists, 1 dig

Sarah Desai -- 1 kill, 3 assists, 1 dig

Keri Klassen -- 3 aces, 6 digs, 1 assist

Ally Mildenberger -- 5 digs

Kyla Mitchell -- 1 kill

Tess Scobey -- 10 kills, 1 ace, 8 blocks

Kaylee Stone -- 17 kills, 1 ace, 8 digs, 1 block

Claire Vander Werf -- 2 kills, 1 ace, 9 digs, 1 block

Maggie Martin -- 1 block, 1 kill.

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS:

Aryn Sanders -- 21 digs, 1 ace

Nicole Terfloth -- 1 ace, 10 digs

Kennady Collick -- 4 digs, 3 aces

Aubrie Johnson -- 17 kills, 1 ace, 5 digs, 6 blocks

Kelsey Sitton -- 3 assists

Mackenzie Lewis -- 6 digs, 2 kills

Maia Rackel -- 17 kills, 12 digs, 2 blocks

Sidney Lapinski -- 35 assists, 1 block, 11 digs, 2 kills

Olivia Powers -- 3 digs

Cora Hansen -- 1 dig, 3 kills.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

District Champions.
District Champions.
photo by Greg Davick
Sports
Chattanooga Women Third At Spring Break Shootout
  • 3/18/2024

The Chattanooga Mocs got off to a solid start at the Spring Break Shootout. The ladies are 4 under on Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club’s South Course carding 280 over the opening 18 and 284 ... more

Sweetwater's Keke Norfolk Signs With Cleveland State
Sweetwater's Keke Norfolk Signs With Cleveland State
  • 3/18/2024

Keke Norfolk of Sweetwater High School signed a National Letter of Intent with the Cleveland State women’s basketball team this past week. Norfolk a 5’9” guard/forward, becomes the first signee ... more

Vol Baseball Win Streak Ends At 17 At Alabama
  • 3/18/2024

No. 5/5 Tennessee's 17-game winning streak came to an end with a 6-3 loss to No. 12/14 Alabama on Saturday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide (16-3, 1-1 SEC) ... more