GPS Volleyball Blanks Red Bank To Remain Undefeated

  • Wednesday, August 21, 2019
  • special to The Chattanoogan.com
Fresh off a convincing victory over Signal Mountain, GPS Volleyball moved to 2-0 on the young season with a 25-9, 25-23, 25-15 road win over previously undefeated Red Bank High School on Wednesday. The Bruisers used strong serving and powerful net play to control the match for much of the night. GPS came out hot from the opening service, winning 19 of the first 23 points in the match. The Lions showed much more punch in the second game but eventually ran out of answers for the Bruisers’ front line of attack.

 
Sophomore Ansley Blevins opened the scoring for the visitors with a kill on the first rally of the match. Senior and returning Best of Preps standout Preslee Brooksbank served the next five points for GPS with the first of her 10 aces finishing off the scoring run. After a pair of points by Red Bank, junior Kylie Barry would serve up another six in a row for the Bruisers with key points being won at the net by Blevins and Claire Nicola. By the time the Lions settled in with an ace from Lexie Wright, GPS was leading by 14, 19-5. Back to back kills from Brooksbank and Mikayla Beard sealed the first game for the Bruisers.
 
Red Bank entered the match with convincing wins over Rhea County and Sequatchie County already under its belt, and the second game was more of a showing of their potential. Wright and Shante Smith picked up the pace for the Red Bank attack at the net. Blevins and junior Chapel Cunningham answered their challenge, and neither GPS nor the Lions had a lead of more than one point until Bailey Lee scored for Red Bank with a thunderous block at the net, moving the home team up by two, 9-7. More back and forth play from both teams resulted in nine more tie scores until GPS won the last two tallies of the game off strong serves from Barry.
 
In the final game, GPS used another rapid start to put away all doubt about the match’s final outcome. Brooksbank and Barry served the Bruisers to a 10-1 advantage before the Lions found their footing. Brief flurries of offense from Red Bank’s Wright and Lee were matched by GPS’s Brooksbank, Blevins, and Cunningham. The latter of those two Bruisers spiked home the final two points of the match to clinch the win. 
Brooksbank wrapped up her night with 11 kills. Cunningham was the only other player on either team to finish with double digits in that category as she ended the match with 10. GPS's Faith Copeland collected 26 assists.
 
Next up for GPS is a trip to the Knoxville Convention Center this weekend for the Showdown at the Sunsphere Tournament which features some of the top teams from around the region. Red Bank hits the road to Sale Creek next Monday.
 

GPS                  25        25        25        - 3
RED BANK       9          23        15        - 0
 
Records:
GPS (2-0), Red Bank (2-1)

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