Sale Creek Rally Nets 3-2 Volleyball Win At Hixson

Lady Panthers Claim Last Three Sets After Losing First Two

  • Monday, August 17, 2015
  • John Hunt
Sale Creek players Sydney Poe, Tayla Willis and Bailey Nelson stand in position at the net.
Sale Creek players Sydney Poe, Tayla Willis and Bailey Nelson stand in position at the net.
photo by M.A. Locke

High school volleyball teams have been practicing for several weeks and they were ready for a regular-season match.

Monday was the first day of the season and several teams had matches, including Hixson hosting Sale Creek.

The Lady Wildcats got off to a really good start and won the first two sets without much problem, but finishing was another issue as the Lady Panthers came back to win the final three sets and the match.

The final had Sale Creek winning in five sets by scores of 17-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-22 and 15-12.

“This is the way it goes when these two teams play as it’s always a battle,” said Sale Creek coach Debbie Hill.

“I don’t think we were ready at the start.  We’re too up and down, so we need to work on our consistency.  Overall, I’m pleased with how we played, but we still have a whole to work on.

“I thought our passing down the stretch was a key as we finally started making them play a little defense.  We were able to get them out of position and that’s how we pulled it out,” Hill said.

Hixson coach Janet Tate, who has been really close friends with Hill for a long time, was matter of fact about her team when the match ended after two hours of nip and tuck action.

“It’s always a great match with Sale Creek,” he began her post-match comments.

“We can hit and we can set, but our passing and serve receive was really poor today.  Hitting is our thing.  We got a nice head of steam in those first two sets, but we let them go and they came back.

“We have a veteran team, but it really got quiet on our side in that fourth set.  We just stopped hitting and let them dominate the rest of the way.  I’m not pleased at all with the way we failed to finish as there’s much work yet to be done,” Tate nodded.

The Lady Wildcats looked like they wanted to end it in three as they breezed to victory in the first two sets.

Tay Tay Staten had six straight service points as Hixson broke away from a 4-4 tie in the opening set.  The biggest lead of 12 points came on two occasions, including the second on an ace by Paige Lawson, as Hixson was able to withstand a late Sale Creek rally.

The Lady Panthers again built a nice lead in the second set – the biggest at 18-13 – before Hixson rallied.

Lawson had a pair of kills before recording six straight service points as the Lady Wildcats regained the upper hand at 21-19.  A kill from Staten made it set point at 24-20 before Haleigh Raber finished it off with an ace.

The third set was nip and tuck, but six straight points from Sydney Poe allowed the visitors to extend a 14-12 lead to 20-12.  Poe was a major factor in that rally with three of her six aces.

A kill from Abbey Burton gave Sale Creek a win in the third set and the Lady Panthers all of a sudden had new life.

Sale Creek never trailed in the fourth set.

The difference was 24-17 before Raber unleashed five straight service points, but a service error on the sixth evened the score for Sale Creek.

The score was tied three times early in the fifth set before four straight points from Bailey Nelson allowed Sale Creek to create a little breathing room at 11-5.

A kill and four straight service points from Lawson knotted the score at 12, but a hitting error returned the lead to Sale Creek and the Lady Panthers ended the match on a kill from Lauren Smith and an ace from Poe.

Ariana Smith finished with 18 kills and 29 digs to lead the winners while teammate Smith had a dozen kills to go along with 29 digs.  Taylor Day had 45 digs while Pugh added 26 assists and 13 digs.

Lawson was the leading hitter for Hixson with 18 kills.  Raber had 32 digs while Bailey Burba finished with 26 assists.

Hixson will host Hixson on Thursday before hosting their own invitational on Saturday at Hixson Middle School.

Those tournament teams include Hixson, Boyd-Buchanan, Chattanooga Christian and Lookout Valley in one pool with Sale Creek, Red Bank, CSAS and East Ridge in the other pool.  The championship match is set for approximately 6 p.m.

Sale Creek returns to action on Friday at Boyd-Buchanan before coming back on Saturday.

SALE CREEK STATS:

Lauren Smith – 12 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 29 digs;

Ariana Smith – 18 kills, 29 digs, 1 ace;

Abbey Burton – 5 kills, 2 digs, 2 assists, 1 block;

Gracie Janow – 6 kills, 3 blocks;

Bailey Pugh – 26 assists, 13 digs, 3 aces;

Taylor Day – 45 digs, 2 aces;

Bailey Nelson – 2 digs, 16 assists, 3 aces;

Sydney Poe – 4 kills, 7 digs, 6 aces;

Tayla Willis – 1 kill, 3 digs, 1 assist.

HIXSON STATS:

Paige Lawson – 2 aces, 18 kills, 15 digs, 1 block;

Courtney Jones – 5 kills, 12 digs;

Morghan White – 3 aces, 4 kills, 18 assists, 5 digs;

Haleigh Raber – 32 digs;

Dakota Rawiszer – 5 kills, 3 digs;

Bailey Burba – 1 ace, 2 kills, 26 assists, 10 digs;

TayTay Staten – 1 ace, 16 kills, 3 blocks, 4 digs.

(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

Sale Creek’s Abbey Burton and Gracie Janow defend against Hixson’s Tatyona Staten.
Sale Creek’s Abbey Burton and Gracie Janow defend against Hixson’s Tatyona Staten.
photo by M.A. Locke
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