Cleveland's Nicole Glaser tries to put away a shot against Warren County's Hope Mullican during their Region 3-3A volleyball tournament semifinal match on Monday at Raider Arena in Cleveland. The Lady Raiders won 3-1 and will play Walker Valley on Tuesday for the championship at 6 p.m.
photo by Dennis Norwood
CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Cleveland is on the same track that took the Lady Blue Raiders to their first TSSAA state volleyball tournament in 2016.
To stay on that path the Lady Raiders must guard from being derailed by stubborn rival Walker Valley on Tuesday night.
Cleveland (31-15), the District 5-3A champion, zipped past District 6-3A runner-up Warren County, 3-1, Monday night in the Region 3-3A tournament semifinals to earn a spot on the championship match.
Set scores were 25-11, 21-25, 25-17 and 25-13.
“We knew not to take Warren County for granted,” said Cleveland’s Nicole Glaser, who finished with five aces, six kills, three digs and one block. “We had to give it our all. We lost a little energy in the second set, but fought back.”
Walker Valley, the No. 2 seed from 5-3A, knocked off 6-3A champion Cookeville in the night’s opening match, 3-1, with scores of 25-23, 26-24, 24-26, 25-20.
The Lady Raiders and Lady Mustangs will meet for the fifth time this season to settle the region championship at Raider Arena at 6 p.m.
“I think it definitely gives us an edge having the home-court advantage,” said Emma Flowers, the district player of the year who powered the Lady Raiders with 26 kills, 18 digs, two aces, two blocks and an assist. “Our fans are here, you feed off everybody’s energy and there’s nothing more comfortable than playing at home.”
The Lady Raiders took four previous matches against the Lady Mustangs, winning 11 of 14 sets.
“I think it’s awesome we’re playing Walker Valley again,” Cleveland coach Trish Flowers said. “We are excited to have two teams from Cleveland make it to the region finals for the first time. It says a lot about how volleyball has grown in the south and more specifically Cleveland.”
Tuesday’s winner will host a Sectional showdown on Thursday while the loser travels to play a Murfreesboro-area opponent and that road is always filled with dangerous potholes.
Cleveland beat Cookeville 3-1 last season for the regional title and followed that up with a 3-1 victory over Oakland for a trip to Murfreesboro for the state tourney. The Lady Raiders lost to Siegel, beat Ravenwood and was eliminated by Farragut, finishing sixth.
It was a monumental season for coach Trish Flowers’ squad.
The Lady Raiders won its first region title, hosted its first sectional and earned the programs’ initial trip to state.
Cleveland built a 19-7 lead in Set 1, pulling away from a 12-7 margin with a 7-0 run . From 21-10, the Lady Raiders got a Madeline Dasher kill, Warren committed two straight errors and Flowers clinched it with a kill.
Flowers converted 5 of 6 kill opportunities in the first set.
In the second set when an old problem cropped up again – lost focus – Flowers scored on six of 21 kill attempts and had four errors. Teammates added five kills, including two each by Lily Oliver and Sofia Lakatosh.
The Lady Pioneers had a 5-0 run that produced an 11-6 lead earlier in the second, but Cleveland responded with a 6-0 spurt with Flowers scoring on three kills and a slap. Warren County turned the tide with the score 20-all when Lakatosh’s serve went long and Kaylee Chisam had a kill and Beth Vaughn added an ace. The Lady Pioneers were then able to finish things out.
“To come back from that,” Glaser said, “anytime you do something good you get excited. If you do something bad, just pick up your team in other ways.”
Nursing an 11-10 lead in the third set, Cleveland unleashed an 8-1 spurt that opened an eight-point advantage. Two kills by Flowers, who is a scoring threat even from the back row, gave the Lady Raiders a 23-14 lead before Warren County scored three in a row. Flowers capped off the set with a block and two-hand push.
“Emma had one kill in front of the 10-foot line,” Trish Flowers said. “Her back-row attack continues to be a force for us. She has put her hours in because she started playing club ball when she was 7 or 8 years old and she’s been in the gym since she was in a car seat.
“She’s a two-sport athlete and she’s not burned out. She played three sports throughout middle school. Some people have told her it’s not a good idea to play basketball her senior year because she might get injured. I get that, but this is her story, it’s what she wants to do and it’s working for her.
“It’s hard to defend her because she good at changing where she hits the ball. If the other team makes an adjustment, she makes an adjustment and that’s a big deal. I’m thankful for my other hitters; they’re shining this season and I’m proud of them.”
Another big factor in the third set was Anna Renshaw contributing 13 of her 37 assists.
Cleveland took the suspense out of the final set by racing to a 16-8 lead. The Lady Raiders then scored six of the next seven points – Renshaw contributed a slap shot and two aces – and opened a commanding 22-9 margin.
Oliver’s kill clinched the match.
Both teams in the title match will be geared for another outstanding match and it’s difficult to know which team can take advantage of the odds surrounding a fifth meeting.
Cleveland has been on the other side, having consistently lost to Ooltewah before taking the upper hand in that series last season.
Walker Valley is the only district team to beat Cleveland in the past two seasons.
“We used to say that Ooltewah could only beat us so many times,” Trish Flowers said. “We’ve seen Cookeville play lights out this season and they’re good against a fast-paced team and weren’t used to playing a team like Walker Valley. Walker Valley is a scrappy bunch and has to play as a team. They’re going to come out ready to play us and I think it’s going to be an exciting match. We’ll see what happens.”
Said Glaser: “We can’t think about the other matches this season against Walker Valley. We have to play our best game and beat them one more time.”
STATISTICS
Cleveland
Anna Renshaw – 4 aces, 9 digs, 3 kills, 37 assists
Emma Flowers – 2 aces, 2 blocks, 18 digs, 26 kills, 1 assist
Hannah Longley – 2 aces, 19 digs, 1 assist
Joy Douglass – 1 ace, 11 digs, 3 kills
Kenli Young – 1 ace
Lily Oliver – 3 kills
Madeline Dasher – 2 digs, 2 kills
Nicole Glaser – 5 aces, 1 block, 3 digs, 6 kills
Sofia Lakatosh – 3 digs, 5 kills
Walker Valley
Carly Buckner – 10 kills, 11 digs, 1 ace
Sophie Frederick – 3 kills, 30 assists, 11 digs
Carissa Frost – 2 kills, 6 assists, 12 digs, 2 aces
Anna Grace Jackson – 6 kills, 7 digs, 1 assist
Aly Grace Lemons – 8 kills, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 4 digs, 3 aces
Hannah Grace Moore – 2 assists, 28 digs
Macy Nipper – 1 dig
Alice Woolson – 3 digs
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)
Cleveland's senior standout Emma Flowers, the District 5-3A Player of the Year, was busy at the net Monday in the Lady Raiders 3-1 win against Warren County in the Region 3-3A volleyball tournament. Flowers finished with a team-high 26 kills in the 3-1 semifinal victory.
photo by Dennis Norwood