The Grace Academy Lady Golden Eagle volleyball team faced its biggest challenge for the young season on Thursday, but they appeared to pass with flying colors as they came back from an opening set loss to defeat Boyd-Buchanan at the latter's Jett Gymnasium.
Both teams entered Thursday's play unbeaten in District 5-A play, but the Lady Bucs were a little bit shorthanded as Asia Kirkman, a crackerjack senior who is the team leader in kills and digs, was in street clothes as she recovers from a pinched nerve in her hip.
The Lady Golden Eagles improved to 6-0 in 5-A and 11-4 overall with the 3-1 victory, winning by scores of 17-25, 28-26, 25-19 and 25-19. Boyd-Buchanan is now 12-9 overall and 4-1 in district play.
Grace coach Hillary Waters has been saying all along that her girls have gotten into the bad habit of starting slow. You might think that was the case on Thursday, but the Lady Bucs were inspired and played really good volleyball as they bolted to a 6-0 lead in the first set and never looked back.
The second set was the key for both teams.
In a segment where there were 10 ties and four lead changes, the Lady Eagles had the upper hand most of the way, the biggest margin being 15-10 following a kill from junior Alex Smith.
Four straight service points from Sarah Emrey allowed the Lady Bucs to tie the score at 18 apiece and that's where the competition really got intense.
Another kill from Smith gave the visitors a 26-25 lead before a service error tied it for the last time. Claire McMasters had a kill to give Grace the advantage while Smith evened the score with one of her nine aces.
It was obvious that the momentum had swung to Grace's side and the Lady Bucs never recovered.
The Lady Golden Eagles never trailed the rest of the way.
"That was a really big win for us as it's a district match with one of our biggest rivals," said Smith, who will celebrate her 17th birthday next Friday.
"We didn't play very well as individuals, but we played great together as a team. Today was one of those days where we had to fake it until we made it, but I'm so excited," she added after finishing the match with 17 kills, 21 digs, nine aces and a couple of blocks.
Coach Waters was another one who was happy with the final results.
"They came out with their guns ablazing and caught us off-guard at the beginning, but we rallied together as a team and pulled it out with energy, power and a lot of fight," she said as her oldest daughter ran up to offer a congratulatory hug to her mother.
"I've been the coach at Grace for the past five years and this is the first time we've ever won in this gym, so I'm pleased and overly ecstatic. I really just don't know how to describe how I feel right now, but the key is that we played well as a team," Waters added.
Boyd-Buchanan coach Alfie Dodd liked the energy and enthusiasm his team exhibited in the opening set, but he didn't have much good to say about their play after that.
"I know that Asia is our leader in kills and digs and one of our best players, but that's the worst defense we've played all season. We didn't move our feet and I'm just not happy at all," he began.
"The first set proved what we're capable of doing, but we just couldn't maintain that level of motivation. We made them earn their points, but you can't let a talented team like Grace get up on you like they did and expect to come back.
"They have some studs on their team and they definitely earned this one. We definitely could have played better, but I'm looking forward to playing them again," he added.
While Smith was one of the main weapons that Grace had to offer, McMasters proved her worth with 21 kills to go along with nine digs and eight blocks. Lexi Horne had 39 assists while her twin sister Miriam was credited with 22 digs.
Erin Syring and Meredith Balthrop both had nine kills to lead Boyd-Buchanan while Sarah Emrey finished with eight digs and 20 assists. Maggie Long had 26 digs while Balthrop also had eight aces.
Grace returns to action next Thursday with a home match against CGLA while the Lady Bucs will be at home on Monday to entertain Lookout Valley before going to Silverdale on Tuesday.
SALE CREEK IMPROVED to 16-4 overall and 4-0 in District 6-A with a 3-0 victory against Marion County. Ariana Smith had nine kills and 14 digs for the Lady Panthers while teammate Bailey Pugh finished with 11 digs and 18 assists.
GRACE STATS:
Claire McMasters -- 21 kills, 9 digs, 8 blocks
Lexi Horne -- 3 digs, 39 assists
Miriam Horne -- 22 digs, 1 ace
Josie Fulgham -- 1 kill
Alex Smith -- 17 kills, 9 aces, 21 digs, 2 blocks
Summer Dean -- 1 ace
Maggie Long -- 5 aces, 26 digs
Autumn Parrott -- 1 kill, 2 aces.
BOYD-BUCHANAN STATS:
Abbie Sewell -- 3 digs, 4 aces
Sarah Emrey -- 8 digs, 4 kills, 20 assists, 1 block, 2 aces
Kensley Parker -- 3 digs, 3 kills, .5 block, 1 ace
Erin Syring -- 2 digs, 9 kills, .5 block, 2 aces
Maddie Van Eaton -- 4 digs, 3 kills, 3 aces
Meredith Balthrop -- 1 dig, 9 kills, 8 assists, 1.5 blocks, 8 aces
Mackenzie Mann -- 3 digs, 7 kills, 3.5 blocks.
SALE CREEK STATS:
Lauren Smith -- 7 kills, 26 digs, 5 aces
Ariana Smith -- 9 kills, 14 digs, 1 ace
Sydney Poe -- 3 kills, 13 digs, 2 aces, 1 block
Gracie Janow -- 5 kills 2 digs, 1 ace, 2 blocks
Bailey Pugh -- 11 digs, 18 assists, 3 aces
Bailey Nelson -- 5 digs, 12 assists, 1 ace
Abbey Burton -- 7 kills, 2 digs, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Tayla Willis -- 3 kills, 1 dig, 2 assists, 1 block
Karah Carson -- 1 dig.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)