Torrid Baylor Sweeps Volleyball Tri-Match At Central

Baylor’s once-beaten Lady Red Raiders made quick work of Signal Mountain and Central in a volleyball tri-match Tuesday at Central High School.

Baylor (10-1) whipped the Lady Eagles and Lady Purple Pounders 2-0 and the match game scores were identical at 25-11 and 25-10.

In the opening match, Signal Mountain beat Central, 2-1, with the game scores of 25-19, 23-25 and 25-15.

“Our offense is definitely impressive right now,” Baylor coach Sarah Lail said. “We’ve been able to have good ball control, which allows us to get the ball to our setters. Our setters are doing a good job giving multiple attacks to different people.

“We’re hitting people from the left side, from the middle and from the right side.”

The Raiders are also limiting their mistakes, which makes it even tougher for opponents to hang with them.

“Volleyball is a game of mistakes,” Lail said. “Any mistake is a point for the other team and we’re really focusing on controlling things on our side.”

The Red Raiders used two impressive runs – one in each game – to knock off the Lady Eagles.

In Game 1, Baylor was leading 9-6 when it went scored nine straight points that included five miscues by Central. Up by 21-11, Baylor got a kill and service point by Ashleigh Cook and a kill by Gabby Gray to go up 24-11 and Central sent the next return shot into the net to end the game.

Signal Mountain (7-6) jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the second game only to see Baylor run off 14 of the game’s next 15 points and opened a 15-3 advantage.

Gray had five points – three on kills – and Ally Craig three service points and she was serving on the first 11 points in the streak. A Craig serve that sailed long ended the run.

Gray had 10 kills in the match, Haven Bethune contributed six kills, six digs and eight assists and Sarah Sumida tossed in nine assists.

“I think we’re playing really well as a team,” Gray said. “This year has a lot different feel for me because I’m a junior. I’m trying to be a better leader because I am an upperclassman. With new freshmen coming in I want to lead by example.”

Signal Mountain coach Jennifer Redman wasn’t mincing words about her team’s performance against the Lady Red Raiders.

“We didn’t come ready to play,” she said, “and that’s not the first time this year that happened. That’s why we have six losses. I told them we have too many (experienced) girls not to come out here ready to play on a consistent basis.”

What is Redman’s next move to motivate the players?

“Sub some of them out,” she said. “At some point somebody has to step up and lead the team. This is frustrating. Ninety percent of my girls play club ball, so it’s not like they haven’t been playing volleyball. “

Then Central (8-6) took its turn against Baylor to finish off the day’s action.

The Lady Red Raiders got out of the gate quickly and had a 7-2 lead, with Cook collecting two kills and a block. When Lilly Turner scored Baylor had a 14-5 advantage and the lead went to 19-9 on another kill by Cook.

Cook finished with five kills, one block and one dig against the Lady Pounders (8-6).

Baylor outscored Central 8-2 down the stretch – Cook had another kill and Gray scored twice.

The Lady Red Raiders didn’t mess around putting the finishing touches on the match, outscoring Central 14-1 at the start of Game 2.

In that run, Elizabeth Case notched four service points and Bethune chalked up two. Later on, Jane Wilson and Bethune each scored twice and Baylor was in complete control at 21-5.

Up 22-9, Bethune ripped a rocket kill, Paris Buckner scored on a block and Cook slammed home the match winner.

Lail has been pleased as the young girls are blending in with the more experienced Lady Red Raiders and can envision a big pay down the road.

“Our older girls understand that the young girls are going to play a vital role, whether it’s this year or in the future,” she said. “We’re trying to get as many people as much experience as possible so that when we get into our region play and tournaments I can feel confident putting any one of my players in the game.”

Despite the losses to Baylor and Signal Mountain, Central coach Jeff Baughman believes his club is making progress.

“We’ve been working on our fundamentals and that’s starting to show up,” he said. “I think we played pretty well today.”

In the opening match, Signal Mountain trailed 6-4 in the first game, but ran off five straight points, followed that up with a 6-0 run and enjoyed a 15-8 lead.

Central cut its deficit to 15-12, but the Lady Eagles quickly stretched the margin out to 19-12.

When Hailey East scored on a nice block at the net, the Lady Pounders pulled to within 21-19.

Aubrie Johnson dropped a well-placed touch shot deep in the corner, Central had an error on the sideline, Kennady Collick scored on a kill and Hallie Hunt gave Signal Mountain the 25-19 win with an ace.

In a tight second game that was tied 23-all, the Lady Pounders went ahead on Brook Parrott’s kill and a tap by Rebekah Hill near the sideline produce the game-winner.

The Lady Eagles got off to an 8-2 start in the third game and doubled the score on Central when Parrott punched a winner for a 14-7 lead.

Signal Mountain had a 20-13 margin when Parrott went down in a heap with an apparent ankle injury and headed to the sideline, where she stayed for the rest of the game.

The Lady Eagles went up 22-13, but Central scored two quick points, including a Lexie Ainslie shot that hit the tape and crawled over for a winner. Two nice offensive plays by Mackenzie Lewis wrapped up the game for Signal Mountain.

Statistics

Baylor vs. Signal Mountain

Haven Bethune – 8 assists, 6 kills, 6 digs, 1 ace

Gabby Gray – 10 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace

Lilly Turner – 7 digs, 2 assist, 2 aces

Sarah Sumida – 9 assists, 4 digs

Ally Craig – 4 aces, 3 kills

Ashleigh Cook – 3 kills, 1 ace

Jane Wilson 1 – 1 kill, 1 assist

Denver Rogers – 2 digs

Paris Buckner – 1 kill

Signal Mountain

Aubrie Johnson – 2 kills, 1 dig, 1 block, 1 ace

Mackenzie Lewis – 7 digs.

Aryn Sanders – 6 digs, 2 aces

Sidney Lapinsky – 1 kill, 3 assists.

Baylor vs. Central

Baylor

Haven Bethune – 5 kills, 9 assists, 7 digs, 1 ace

Gabby Gray – 6 kills, 1 ace, 1 dig

Sarah Sumida – 8 assists, 5 digs, 1 kills

Lilly Turner – 9 digs, 3 assists

Ashleigh Cook – 5 kills, 1 block, 1 dig

Ally Craig – 1 kill, 1 block, 1 dig

Elizabeth Case – 3 aces, 2 digs

Denver Rogers – 1 ace, 2 digs

Jane Wilson – 2 kills

Kelsey Holden – 3 digs

Eva Whaley – 1 kill

Abby McNamara – 1 dig

Paris Buckner – 1 block

Central 

Brook Parrott -- 5 kills, 4 digs, 1 block

Rebekah Hill -- 5 kills, 3 digs, 1 block

Adrian McClurg -- 3 kills, 1 block

Lexie Ainslie -- 1 ace, 11 assists, 4 digs

Emma Beach -- 1 ace

Makayla Smith -- 1 kill, 1 block

Sam Scott -- 5 digs

Hailey East -- 2 digs

Signal Mountain vs. Central

Signal Mountain

Aryn Sanders – 22 digs,

Mckenzie Lewis – 4 kills, 2 aces, 12 digs, 1 block

Kennady Collick – 3 kills, 1 ace, 8 digs, 1 block

Aubrie Johnson – 7 kills, 2 aces, 7 digs, 3 blocks

Sidney Lapinsky – 4 kills, 4 aces, 11 digs, 20 assists.

Central

Brook Parrott -- 6 kills 2 aces, 2 digs, 1 block

Rebekah Hill -- 11 kills, 1 ace, 2 digs, 1 block

Adrian McClurg -- 2 kills, 4 digs.

Lexie Ainslie -- 1 ace, 14 assists, 3 digs

Emma Beach -- 2 aces, 1 dig

Caitlin Maupin -- 2 digs

Sam Scott -- 6 digs

Hailey East -- 2 digs

 

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