Shelby May, Rachel Harper Lead Lady Bucs Victory
by John Hunt
posted October 14, 2008
) Photo by Greg Davick |
That was exactly the challenge she had to pose to her young team.
After all, the District 5-A-AA championship was on the line and the right to host next week’s Region tournament was at stake as well.
Whatever Lenoir said in her pre-game talk must have been effective because the Lady Bucs took care of business in a hurry, winning the match in three straight games and taking less than an hour to claim their second straight district title.
Boyd-Buchanan was victorious by scores of 25-11, 25-10 and 25-17.
As a result, the Lady Bucs will face District 6-A-AA runner-up Chattanooga Christian on Tuesday in one Region semifinal.
CSAS will face 6-A-AA champ East Ridge in the other semifinal. Starting times have yet to be determined, but the first match will probably begin around 4 or 4:30.
There are only eight players on the Boyd-Buchanan roster. All have their own designated roles and all are important to the success of the team, which is now 31-10 following Tuesday’s win.
None were any more important than sophomore Rachel Harper.
With the Lady Bucs clinging to a 12-11 lead in the first game, Harper stepped to the service line and produced 13 straight winners as Boyd-Buchanan took charge in a hurry and gained a lot of momentum in the process.
As it turned out, the Lady Patriots never really recovered from that onslaught.
“I liked the way things turned out today,” Lenoir smiled at the conclusion of the match.
“We took care of business. Rachel (Harper) kicked it in with some outstanding serves and that was the difference in the match as far as I was concerned.
"We had beaten them twice earlier in the season and I told my girls we just had to stay focused on the task at hand.
“We don’t have any control on what happens on the other side of the net, but we have total control of what happens on our side. That’s what we have to focus on,” the coach added.
CSAS coach Brandon Lowery felt like his girls may have been a little shell shocked when they entered Tom Jett Gymnasium.
After all, Boyd-Buchanan has been the measuring stick for success in this district in recent years and the Lady Patriots were well aware of that fact.
“This was our first post-season experience and I thought we were a little rattled. We didn’t play as well as we’ve been playing as we didn’t pass the ball very well and we didn’t communicate like we needed to.
“I’m real proud of the fact that we’ll leave here with a plaque, but I’m totally displeased with the effort we gave.
"We walked in here today a little timid, but a situation like this will be good for us on down the road,” he added.
The Lady Patriots are now 34-7 for the season while Boyd-Buchanan is now 31-10.
Boyd-Buchanan’s Shelby May earned MVP honors after turning in a sterling performance where she had 19 assists, eight digs, eight kills and five aces.
Other all-tournament team members from Boyd-Buchanan included Stephanie Silvers, Breejante Williams and Harper.
Those selections from CSAS included Kayla Kelly, Hollie Madison and Erin McLance.
Two picks for Grace included Kaylan Dilts and Brooke Calhoun while other honorees included Temple’s Janette Elliott and Silverdale’s Regan Robertson.
CSAS stats:
Joy Owino – 8 blocks;
Kayla Kelly – 6 kills, 3 blocks, 7 digs;
MeMe Kelly – 3 kills, 1 block, 1 dig, 1 ace;
Erin McLance – 3 kills;
Katie Dean – 2 digs;
Terilyn Rodriguez – 3 digs;
Chariah Gordon – 3 kills.
Boyd-Buchanan stats:
Shelby May – 19 assists, 8 digs, 8 kills, 5 aces;
Stephanie Silvers – 17 digs, 5 kills, 1 ace;
Rachel Harper – 14 digs, 7 kills, 8 aces;
Maggie Brown – 3 digs, 3 kills, 1 ace;
Erica Morris – 8 digs;
Ashley Hixson – 1 dig, 3 aces;
Hope Johnson – 11 digs, 2 kills, 1 ace;
Breejante Williams – 6 digs, 10 kills.
(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)
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