Grace Baptist Academy's Alexandra Smith, left, goes high to blast one of her 27 kills past Silverdale Baptist Academy's Sarah Kestila (30) and Kayleigh Page (20) during the District 6-1A volleyball championship match at Boyd-Buchanan. Grace defeated Silverdale 3-1.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Grace Baptist Academy was tired of finishing runner-up in the District 5-1A volleyball tournament.
So, the Lady Golden Eagles did something about it Thursday.
They spotted Silverdale Baptist Academy a 1-0 set lead, but stormed back behind the brilliant play of Alexandra Smith and Summer Dean to defeat the Lady Seahawks, 3-1, and capture the tournament championship at Boyd-Buchanan School.
Set scores were 25-23, 19-25, 21-25 and 24-26.
“After losing the first game, I was thinking that we have to come out with more fire and intensity, and we did,” said Smith, the tournament MVP. “It’s amazing to win the tournament and be undefeated in the district. We’re so blessed.”
The Lady Eagles upheld their No. 1 district seed by claiming the championship plaque and at the same time advanced to the Region 3-1A tournament on Monday. Grace will play Lookout Valley, the District 6-1A runner-up.
“We’re going to region with a lot of confidence,” said Grace’s Autumn Parrott, who had 11 kills, five digs, three aces and one block against Silverdale. “Today we had great passing, great sets and were knocking the ball down every time.”
Silverdale has a tough assignment against District 6-1A champion Sale Creek, which routed South Pittsburg (semifinals) and Lookout Valley in the title match on Tuesday. The Lady Panthers (36-5) and just salted away their sixth straight district tourney crown.
Start time for Monday’s matches will be determined on Friday.
Silverdale coach Nathan Daugherty said, “All the girls battled all night. We’ve been back together as a full team for about a week. (Kayleigh) Page, (Gracie) Pierce and (Falyn) Blalock were still battling injuries, but you would never know it by the way they played.
“And (Kenzie) Manning and (Lexi) Vogel are freshmen who are no longer playing like freshmen. I’m proud of them.”
The simple fact was that Smith, a Middle Tennessee State University commitment, was a workhorse throughout the match and scored 46 of the Lady Eagles’ 98 points over four sets on kills. Many of the monster shots were lasers, rockets and knee bucklers after take a few steps, leaping to meet a frequently perfect set and slamming it home.
“Alexandra played a great game,” said Grace coach Hillary Waters, who is in her seventh year with the Lady Eagles. “She was on point with her serving and hitting and was our leader out there. When she’s leading and communicating on the court the team follows her and can do great things.”
More often than not Dean was giving Smith flawless passes time after time and that twosome was instrumental in the Lady Eagles avenging second-place finishes in 2014 and 2015.
“This is the most refreshing thing for us,” Waters said. “We’ve waited a long time for this day and to achieve it at a high level makes it even more enjoyable. We finished second to Boyd-Buchanan and Silverdale the past two years, so we’re going to take a deep breath get ready for region.”
Dean finished with a whopping 46 assists and surpassed the career 1,000-mark. She needed just seven to reach 1,000 and got that and more in the first set. She also had 2 kills, 1 ace and 10 digs.
Silverdale came out strong, taking the first set as Katie Patrick and Emma Dale – she had six kills – were doing serious work around the net. Patrick recorded six blocks and two kills.
The opener was tied 20-20 when Dale ripped a kill to give the Lady Seahawks a 21-20 advantage. Dale gave that point right back with a serve past the back line. Silverdale’s Gracie Pierce’s slap tied the score 21-all.
From 22-22, Patrick scored on back-to-back blocks, Parrott had a kill for Grace, and Pierce added a slap for the set winner.
“We felt good at that point,” Daugherty said. “We did not execute the game plan and beat them on hustle and some blocks. We didn’t consistently execute the game plan all night.”
Said Dale, “We came in confident, but not cocky. We felt good after winning the first game. We need to finish stronger and play more competitive.”
Silverdale was still putting pressure on Grace deep into the second set while nursing a 16-11 advantage.
The Lady Eagles scored 10 of the next 13 points and zipped into a 21-17 lead. Parrott scored on a slap, ace, kill and a tip while Holley Fulgham had a slap for a point. Silverdale errors provided the other points in the spree.
A Grace error and Patrick’s scoring block against Smith trimmed the Silverdale deficit to 21-19.
The Lady Eagles scored the final four points – Fulgham scored on a slap and three Grace errors, including Pierce’s errant push that provided the 25th point – to level the match at one set apiece.
Leading 9-6 in the second, Grace scored seven straight points – Smith had four kills, one deep into the corner, and a dink while the final point in the spurt came when Page’s slap sailed long. Silverdale moved to within 16-14 with the quick offensive strikes.
Grace had a 22-19 lead when it closed out the set to grab a 2-1 lead. Parrott had a kill down the sideline and Smith’s two-handed push gave Grace a 24-20 lead. Smith delivered a side-out kill, but the Lady Eagles’ Blalock’s serve found the net, allowing Grace to win the set.
In the finale, Grace led by 13-6 early, but Silverdale fought back to tie it at 16-16. Down the stretch, the Lady Seahawks grabbed a 23-21 lead off back-to-back Grace unforced errors.
Silverdale had a 24-22 advantage after Dean’s shot went past the backline. Parrott countered with two straight kills, Pierce’s push went long and Julianna Hill’s service point gave the Lady Eagles the match-clinching 25th point.
“I’m proud of the girls for reaching the region tournament,” Daugherty said. “The team was knocked around early. Pierce got hurt the first week of the season, other girls fought through injuries, so I’m proud we’ve done as much as we have. We’re only going to get better.”
Smith is hopeful the Lady Eagles still have what it takes to register a few more on-court achievements before packing up the gear for this season.
“We want to win region and go to state,” she said. “Those are our goals.”
STATISTICS
Silverdale Baptist Academy
Falyn Blalock – 12 digs, 5 aces, 10 assists
Emma Dale – 2 digs, 1 ace, 6 kills, 1 assist
Savannah Gann – 2 digs, 5 assists
Kenzie Manning – 2 digs, 1 block, 6 kills
Kayleigh Page – 2 digs, 4 blocks, 3 kills
Katie Patrick – 6 blocks, 2 kills
Gracie Pierce – 12 digs, 1 ace, 3 kills
Lexi Vogel – 3 digs
Grace Baptist Academy
Alexandra Smith – 27 kills, 20 digs, 1 block
Lexie Mullins – 5 digs
Summer Dean – 2 kills, 46 assists, 1 ace, 10 digs
Autumn Parrott – 11 kIlls, 3 aces, 5 digs, 1 bloc
Maggie Long – 1 kill, 2 aces, 23 digs
Juliana Hill – 1 ace, 3 kills, 2 digs
Megan Long – 1 kill, 1 dig, 1 block
Abby McGaughey – 1 ace, 2 digs
Holley Fulgham – 3 kills, 1 dig, 4 blocks
All-Tournament Team
Grace Baptist -- Alexandra Smith (MVP), Summer Dean, Autumn Parrott, Maggie Long
Silverdale Baptist -- Gracie Pierce, Falyn Blalock, Kayleigh Page
Boyd-Buchanan -- Meredith Balthrop, Maddie Millwood
CSAS -- Alma Justice, Megan Pool
CGLA -- Grace Turner
Copper Basin -- Ashleigh Brackett
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)
Emma Dale of Silverdale Baptist Academy reaches back for a slam in Thursday's District 6-1A volleyball tournament title match against Grace Baptist Academy. Grace won 3-1, but both teams advance to the Region 3-1A tournament next week on Grace's home court.
photo by Dennis Norwood