MURFREESBORO — After a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the first round of the state volleyball championships earlier Tuesday, East Hamilton could not re-create the same magic in its quarterfinal match-up later in the day against two-time state champion Portland in the TSSAA Class 2A tournament..
After hanging tough with the Lady Panthers through half of the first set, Portland took control and dominated the rest of the way, beating the Lady Hurricanes 3-0 by scores of 25-19, 25-12, and 25-15.
“It was a combination of us playing very poorly and them being a tremendous team,” said East Hamilton coach Kelsey Kelley. “We did a poor job of communicating with each other and just looked lost out there at times with the ball landing in the middle of the court and everyone just looking at each other.”
“(Portland) is such a scrappy team, and the girls started getting frustrated that they were able to get to all of the hits that we had been landing all season. We started going for more tips but that didn't work either.”
East Hamilton (32-11) matched Portland (43-10) point for point early in the first set, and even led 15-12. At that point, the wheels came off, and the Lady Panthers scored 13 of the final 17 points to take a one-set lead.
“I feel like it was difficult for the girls to get up mentally and emotionally again after the win this morning,” Kelley said. “I don't want to use that as an excuse at all, but they certainly didn't have the same energy level, especially once we fell behind.”
The second set began much like the first one ended. Before the Lady Canes and their fans could blink, they found themselves in a 14-2 hole, and they were never able to recover. At that point, Portland had scored 27 of the last 33 points and gained every ounce of momentum.
Yet again in the third set, Portland jumped out early with the first seven points. East Hamilton was never able to close the gap closer than four points as the Lady Panthers cruised to victory.
“I think if we had not been able to hang with them from the first point, it would have been more demoralizing,” said Kelley. “But the fact that we were in that first set showed the girls that we can play with them if we see them again.”
East Hamilton will take on Crockett County (34-13), Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. CT at Blackman High School.