The Baylor Lady Red Raider volleyball express just keeps rolling on down the tracks, picking up just a little bit more momentum with each passing match.
It’s been a memorable fall for the Baylor girls as they are now 18-0 overall and 5-0 in region play after Wednesday’s three-set sweep of the GPS Bruisers.
Oh, they don’t always play perfect volleyball as they have their mental lapses when they think about something other than the task at hand. They still are capable of making silly mental mistakes when on the court communication isn’t what maybe it should be and all of their shots don’t go where they’re intended.
But for a high school team that has only lost one set in those 18 matches – coach Sarah Lail refuses to let them forget the one set they lost when they had a 24-19 lead – the Baylor girls are playing at the top of their game and it’s just mid-season.
Wednesday’s match with GPS was close for a while, but once the momentum shifted to the Baylor side for the final time, the match was over in just about an hour as the Lady Raiders prevailed by scores of 25-16, 25-11 and 25-8.
“I just love it and it was really great,” said Lail when asked her feelings about the match against their arch-rivals.
“Things were a little shaky in the first set as we had seven unforced errors in the first 13 points, but we were able to settle down and play pretty well after that.
“The best thing about this team is the fact we have so many weapons. Even our servers can cause some havoc for other teams,” she continued.
Speaking of servers, sophomore Elizabeth Case was one who did exactly that on Wednesday. Her stats aren’t that impressive as she was credited with one ace, one assist and two digs, but they didn’t include service stats.
A kill from Charlotte Vance gave the visiting Bruisers a 16-15 lead before Gabby Gray evened the score for Baylor with a powerful kill of her own.
That’s when Case stepped to the service line and reeled off nine straight points. Gray had three kills in that stretch while Jane Wilson had a kill before clinching the set with a block, but the work of Case basically turned the match around at that point and the young Bruisers never recovered.
Case had another similar run in the second set when six straight points extended a 15-10 lead to 21-10. And then in the final set, she had five in a row that stretched a 17-7 lead to 22-7.
“It was exciting as we played all out today, but we were ready to beat GPS. I’m consistent with my serving and I’ve gotten better, but I was just ready to knock them out and we were able to do just that,” she explained.
Lail had plenty of praise for the slender sophomore.
“Elizabeth has an important role on this team, but that’s extremely tough to do what she did for us today. She’s one of our unsung heroes,” the coach added.
While Baylor remains unbeaten after 18 matches, GPS is now 16-8 overall and 1-2 in region play. Coach Alfie Dodd felt good about what he witnessed for the most part.
“We’ve been through a lot so far this season with our best player Lilly Berger out for the year with a torn ACL. And we only have one senior Courtlyn Martino, so we’re a young team, but I just wanted to see us play with heart and enthusiasm today,” Dodd began.
“Baylor is fantastic and very loaded at every position. Sarah Lail is an amazing coach who probably has the highest volleyball IQ of any coach in Tennessee. We’re young and rebuilding, but we have lots of talent. We can hang with other teams and we even played up to their level for a minute, but they did a great job of keeping us off-balance.
“I was really pleased with the way we played in the first two sets, but when things start going bad, all of our mistakes seem to multiply. But I’m hoping we’ll be back in the thick of things before the season ends,” Dodd concluded.
Gray finished with a dozen kills while Ally Craig contributed to Baylor’s success with seven kills and eight digs. Lilly Turner also had eight digs while Sarah Sumida had 35 assists.
Jane Wilson was another Baylor player who had an outstanding match with six kills and four blocks.
Vance had five kills to lead the Bruisers while Reagan Long had four kills. Preslee Brooksbank and Martino both had five digs while Emma Moore finished with nine assists.
While GPS returns to action on Thursday with a home match against Red Bank, Baylor returns to the court on Friday and Saturday when they join Soddy Daisy in hosting the River City Rumble.
Other teams include GPS, Signal Mountain, East Hamilton, Chattanooga Christian, Red Bank, Goodpasture, Fellowship Christian and Covenant. The championship match is set for Soddy Daisy on Saturday around 4:30.
HIXSON CAME OUT on the short end of a 3-0 match at Signal Mountain on Wednesday with the Lady Eagles prevailing by scores of 25-10, 25-5 and 25-14. The Lady Eagles are now 17-5 overall while Hixson falls to 8-12.
GPS STATS:
Courtlyn Martino – 1 kill, 1 assist, 1 ace, 5 digs
Karly Benefield – 3 digs
Preslee Brooksbank – 5 digs
Emma Moore – 9 assists, 1 kill, 1 ace, 2 digs
Charlotte Vance – 5 kills, 1 assist, 1 block 1 ace, 4 digs
Hannah Kincer – 1 kill
Kendall Crum – 1 kill
Reagan Long – 4 kills, 2 digs, 1 block.
BAYLOR STATS:
Ally Craig – 1 ace, 7 kills, 1 block, 8 digs
Gabby Gray – 1 ace, 12 kills, 2 blocks, 5 digs
Sarah Sumida – 3 aces, 2 kills, 35 assists, 4 digs
Paris Buckner – 4 kills, 1 block
Jane Wilson – 6 kills, 4 blocks
Lilly Turner – 1 assist, 8 digs
Denver Rogers – 4 digs
Laura Kate May – 1 ace
Lexie Laurendine – 6 kills, 1 dig
Elizabeth Case – 1 ace, 1 assist, 2 digs.
HIXSON STATS:
Dakota Rawiszer – 1 kill, 6 digs
Sam Dove – 1 ace, 1 kill, 12 digs, 9 assists
Courtney Jones – 4 kills, 8 digs
Sam McKee – 1 kill, 3 digs
Abby Rector – 2 kills, 4 digs
Shelby Rector – 2 kills, 3 digs
Rachel Cline – 5 digs
Marly Fitzpatrick – 4 digs.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS:
Nicole Terfloth -- 2 aces, 16 digs
Elaine Redman -- 1 ace, 9 digs
Aubrie Johnson -- 1 ace, 12 kills, 4 blocks
Kelsey Sitton -- 2 aces, 2 kills, 4 digs, 7 assists
Kate Barry -- 1 ace, 5 kills, 3 digs, 9 assists
Maia Rackel -- 6 kills, 6 digs, 3 blocks
Mackenzie Lewis -- 4 kills
Hallie Hunt -- 2 digs
Sidney Lapinski -- 2 aces, 5 digs, 9 assists
Olivia Powers -- 1 kill, 4 digs, 1 block
Cora Hansen -- 5 kills, 2 blocks.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)