MURFREESBORO – The Baylor Lady Red Raiders played a really close match against the Briarcrest Lady Saints in the first round of the Division II-AA state volleyball tournament at Siegel High School Tuesday afternoon, but unfortunately, close matches don’t count for much.
The Lady Saints, improving to 37-4 with this latest win, have won seven state titles, including last year when they beat Baylor. Baylor has won four state volleyball titles, the last being in 2017 against – you guessed it – Briarcrest.
While the loss to the Lady Saints was devastating to say the least, it wasn’t the end of the day or the tournament for the Lady Red Raiders.
They had to wait several hours, but the wait was well worth it as Baylor eliminated Harpeth Hall in four sets, winning another knock down-drag out match over the Lady Honey Bears by scores of 31-29, 25-20, 25-27 and 25-20.
It was a heartwarming experience watching these Baylor girls compete as they battled for all they were worth in both matches. Truly displaying what the real Baylor spirit is all about, they simply refused to lose. Even when the chips were down and the situation a little bleak, they reached down deep in their young souls and totally laid it on the line.
Briarcrest won Tuesday’s match in three straight sets by a combined difference of seven points. Set scores were 25-23, 25-22 and 25-23.
It was a real battle from the first point until the last, but the Lady Saints always seemed to come through with a critical point in difficult situations.
Baylor coach Sarah Lail said before the match began that her team was ready, both mentally and physically. And even though the veteran coach was somewhat disappointed in the final result, she was mighty proud of her team for battling the whole way.
“That was another great match, but we had to fight back a couple of times and that caused us to get out of system,” Lail said after her team’s record dropped to 29-9.
“We were on defense a lot in the second and third sets, but we just have to move forward and get ready for our next match. We can’t afford to hang our heads at this point. To play as hard as we did and to compete against the defending state champs like we did makes me extremely proud. We have a lot of girls who have never been here before, so this is a new experience for them,” Lail added.
Elaine Redman, the slender junior who seems to get better and stronger with each passing match, had another outstanding match as she finished with 20 kills and 10 assists.
Tess Margio finished with eight kills while Libby May was credited with 25 assists. Holland Moss had three blocks.
While Redman was the best player on the court in the first match, she was even more so in the second as she finished with some amazing stats, including 20 more kills, 21 assists, 28 digs, five aces and two blocks. She played every point like her life depended on it.
She dove for a ball midway through the third set and landed on her head. The Siegel gym was totally silent as the 16-year-old daughter of Steve and Jennifer Redman laid their motionless for at least a minute. She got back to her feet shortly afterward and took a point off before re-entering the Baylor lineup.
Needless to say, she was probably dog tired at the end of the day and chances are good she might even have a little headache, but she bounced back like a champ and was smiling like the rest of her teammates when the match finally ended.
“I think I dove and hit my head, but I’m okay now,” she expressed later while wiping sweat from her brow.
“We were down at that point and we ended up losing that set, but we came back and won for each other in the next one. I’m pretty tired right now, but so happy,” she smiled.
Baylor has been to the state tournament all 11 years that Lail has been their coach. They’ve never finished worse than third. They kept that streak alive for another year, but Lail was like the rest of her team. She was totally exhausted, but smiling from ear to ear after they lived to play another day.
“We just played our hearts out for the second time today. We talked between matches about how much it means to put on a Baylor uniform and to fight for all we were worth. We played with a lot of heart and passion as we didn’t want our season to end today,” Lail said after receiving a congratulatory hug from her mother and her two young daughters.
“I thought we were timid at times in the match against Briarcrest as we were playing not to lose. Tonight we had nothing to lose and we came here ready to attack. Our back row did a great job of getting the ball up front for our big hitters, but volleyball is such a game of momentum. You just can’t ever let up, no matter what the score.
“But like I told you on Saturday, any of these four teams are capable of winning this tournament. I just hope it’s us,” she concluded.
Baylor broke from a 2-2 tie in the first set to take an 11-5 lead before the Honey Bears called their first timeout. The difference was 18-10 when they called their second. Three straight service points from Redman extended the lead to 21-10 before Harpeth Hall began its comeback.
A kill from Jamison White got the Nashville lasses within 24-20 before Lail called her first timeout.
Elizabeth Aylward, who had seven straight service points in that run, had a pair of aces as her team knotted the score at 24-24. The score was tied five more times before Baylor prevailed on back-to-back hitting errors by Harpeth Hall.
Redman had five straight service points in the second set to turn a 13-12 deficit into a 17-13 lead, including three of her five aces. Another kill from the six-foot junior a minute later gave her team a 2-0 lead in the match.
The shoe was on the other foot in the third set as Harpeth Hall had a big lead of 19-10 before Baylor came back. A block from Sierra Herndon tied the score at 22-22 for the Lady Red Raiders, but four unforced errors allowed Harpeth Hall to stay alive with the two-point win.
With the match on the line, Baylor took charge early in the fourth set and built a 9-3 lead that swelled to 18-7 following a kill by Herndon.
Five straight points from Claire Wilson, including a trio of aces, got Harpeth Hall within 19-15, but it never got any closer as Redman clinched the match with her 20th kill.
While Redman was the statistical leader again for Baylor, she had plenty of help.
Herndon was outstanding with eight kills and nine huge blocks while Margio finished with 13 kills and four blocks. Libby May did her job with 20 assists and 14 digs.
Briarcrest and Knox Catholic play in the winners bracket final at 11:30 local time with Baylor facing the loser at 2:30. Both matches will be played at MTSU’s Murphy Center.
Baylor improves to 30-9 with its latest win.
BAYLOR STATS VS. HARPETH HALL:
Sierra Herndon – 8 kills, 9 blocks, 1 dig
Elli Kinney – 1 kill, 14 digs
Tess Margio – 13 kills, 4 blocks, 1 dig
Libby May – 20 assists, 14 digs
Laura Kate May – 2 aces, 4 assists, 3 digs
Holland Moss – 4 kills, 1 block
Elaine Redman – 5 aces, 20 kills, 2 blocks, 21 assists, 28 digs
Nadia Sixto – 2 kills, 3 blocks, 1 dig
Madison Cope – 4 kills, 4 digs
Julia Hartman – 2 aces, 12 digs.
BAYLOR STATS VS. BRIARCREST:
Sierra Herndon – 3 kills
Elli Kinney – 1 kill, 1 ace
Tess Margio – 8 kills, 1 block
Libby May – 25 assists
Holland Moss – 1 kill, 3 blocks
Elaine Redman – 20 kills, 10 assists
Nadia Sixto – 2 kills.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)