Cleveland didn’t need five sets to turn back rival Walker Valley on Tuesday night.
Four worked just fine.
Top-seeded Cleveland got a combined 42 kills from Emma Flowers and Anna Renshaw and knocked off the Lady Mustangs 3-1 to capture their second straight District 5-3A volleyball tournament championship at Bradley Central High School.
Set scores were 25-20, 24-26, 25-23 and 25-19.
“We had a good night,” Cleveland coach Trish Flowers said. “We had good chemistry, played with good energy and it was a great team effort.”
Cleveland will host the Region 3-3A tournament next Monday and Tuesday at the Raider Arena, facing Warren County in the semifinals. Warren County is the District 6-3A runner-up after losing to Cookeville. The Lady Mustangs will take on Cookeville in the other regional semifinal.
Monday’s semifinal match times have not been determined, but the championship match is set for Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Emma Flowers, the coach’s daughter and tournament MVP, collected 28 kills and 24 digs while leading the Lady Blue Raiders to their 30th against 15 losses this season. Renshaw had 14 kills, 41 of the team’s 42 assists and 11 digs.
Cleveland (30-15) came in having won six of eight matches in the Mid-Tennessee Classic last weekend and wanted to carry that momentum into the district tourney. The Lady Raiders knocked off McMinn County on Monday and took care of business against the Lady Mustangs (23-13).
“We came into the match confident we could win in four sets,” Trish Flowers said. “The girls were in and out of my room during the day, we talked about what we wanted to do tonight and we just felt we would win in four.”
The reasoning had to do with eliminating some mistakes made in the two regular season showdowns.
“We made so many unforced errors in those two matches, so they had yet to see us at our best,” the coach said. “We truly came together, played with chemistry, had good energy and had a great team effort. We played lights out.”
Emma Flowers got stronger at the net as the match progressed and recorded nine kills in each of the final two sets. Renshaw was equally impressive down the stretch with 25 of her 41 assists in sets three and four.
Cleveland, winning its 11th straight match against district foes this season, was extremely consistent with its power game. The Lady Raiders had 60 total kills with 13 in the first set and followed by 15, 18 and 14.
Aly Grace Lemons led Walker Valley with 18 kills. Sophie Frederick had a match-high 42 digs and Hannah Grace Moore tossed in 28 digs.
Cleveland has beaten Walker Valley four times this season, but Walker Valley owns the only district win over the Lady Raiders in two years, posting that win in 2016.
“I’m proud the way our players played and I have to give a shoutout to the offensive team because we had so many contributors,” Trish Flowers said. “Sometimes it appears Emma is the only one getting the ball, but that’s not the plan. We had other players come through for us.”
Six different players recorded kills.
Renshaw dominated the assist category. She was the only Lady Raider to have assists in the first (eight), third (13) and fourth (12) sets. Hannah Longley had one in the second.
“This is the second year in a row we’ll get to play big matches in Raider Arena,” the coach said. “Last season we beat Oakland in the sectionals and we’re hosting the region this year.”
If the Lady Raiders come out of this year’s regional with another title, they will again be at home for a sectional match and playing for a second straight trip to the state tournament in Murfreesboro.
Walker Valley coach Judy Pruett did not return a phone message seeking comments for this story.
STATISTICS
Walker Valley
Carly Buckner – 8 kills, 1 assists, 11 digs, 2 aces
Sophie Frederick – 3 kills, 42 assists, 9 digs, 2 aces
Carissa Frost – 2 kills, 3 assists, 12 digs, 1 ace
Laney Harris – 1 ace
Anna Grace Jackson – 6 kills, 11 digs, 3 aces
Aly Grace Lemons – 18 kills, 1 block, 3 digs
Hannah Grace Moore – 1 assists, 28 digs
Macy Nipper – 11 kills, 3 blocks, 1 dig
Alice Woolson – 8 digs
Cleveland
Anna Renshaw – 1 ace, ½ block, 11 digs, 14 kills, 41 assists
Emma Flowers – 1 ace, 1 ½ blocks, 24 digs, 28 kills
Hannah Longley – 2 aces, 25 digs, 1 assist
Joy Douglass – 1 ace, 17 digs, 2 kills
Kenli Young – 4 digs
Lily Oliver – 1 block, 7 kills
Lydia Martin – 13 digs
Nicole Glaser – 1 ace, 2 digs, 5 kills
Sofia Lakatosh – 4 aces, 1 block, 2 digs, 4 kills
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)