The first day of the state volleyball tournament in Murfreesboro started off well for Chattanooga teams as Notre Dame and East Hamilton both won matches on Tuesday morning.
Success continued later in the day as Signal Mountain and Cleveland both advanced, but that wasn’t the case for the Sale Creek Lady Panthers.
Sale Creek had the distinct honor of playing two-time defending state champ Summertown in their match at Siegel High School.
The Lady Panthers got off to a good start by winning the first set 25-19, but the Lady Eagles came storming back to win the next three by scores of 25-14, 25-23 and 25-13.
Sale Creek now faces Westview in a loser’s bracket match at 6 p.m. Chattanooga time on Wednesday.
"It's too bad that we got the best team in the tournament in the first round, but there was nothing we could do about it," said Sale Creek coach Erin Briner.
"The first set was absolutely the best we could play, but Summertown is really good and we just couldn't maintain that level of play. We got down early in the second set and just came up short after that, but we're not down. We're still playing, but we hope to get another shot at them.
"I expect us to come back and compete on Wednesday like we're capable, but playing a team like Summertown gave us confidence that we can play with anybody. But we have a really young team and I feel really good about them right now and for the future," Briner added.
While Sale Creek was having a less-than-desirable start, things went really well for Signal Mountain as they swept the Sullivan East Lady Patriots, winning by scores of 25-16, 25-23 and 27-25.
The Lady Eagles improve to 18-16 and will face Dyer County on Wednesday at 1.
Signal Mountain coach Kim Rackel was just thrilled with the results of Tuesday’s opening match.
“Sullivan East had some strong attackers, but we were able to keep our composure and we able to do on our side of the court what we needed to do to come away with a win,” Rackel began.
“We did a nice job of following our game plan and we were successful at the right time. I’m so glad to have a good match right out of the gate as it’s tough having to come back through the loser’s bracket. We had three girls with at least 10 kills, so we did a nice job of spreading the ball around, but we also blocked well.
“Our serving was aggressive and they were exceptional as we were solid between the service lines. We just want to savor this moment knowing that when we wake up tomorrow, we’ll get up and try to do it again,” Rackel added.
Carlee Lowry, who is just a freshman, set the pace for Signal with a triple-double, finishing with 15 kills, 10 digs and 16 assists. Dillia Lowry and Emily Redman both had 10 kills with Redman also having 23 assists.
Antoinette Cisto had nine digs for the winners while Addy Jones had four blocks.
While Signal Mountain swept their first-round opponent, the Cleveland Lady Blue Raiders really had to reach down deep to advance as they beat Nolensville in a dogfight by a 3-2 final.
Cleveland took an early 2-0 lead with wins by scores of 25-19 and 25-23, but the two-time defending Class AA state champs weren’t ready to surrender as they won the next two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-20. But when the chips were on the line and the match still to be decided, Cleveland won the final set by a 15-10 final as they improved to 37-11 for the season.
Nolensville, the defending two-time state champs in Class AA, is now 38-4 for the season.
“That was almost exactly what kind of match I was expecting it to be, but it came down to a few points and who loved each other the most in the fifth set,” said Cleveland coach Amy McGowan.
“I thought we were really focused at the end. I had a good feeling coming into the match as my girls were really confident. But we knew that Nolensville has a good team, so it wasn’t a surprise that it went five sets,” the Cleveland coach added.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS:
Erica Woodward – 7 digs
Grace Williams – 6 digs
Antoinette Cisto – 1 ace, 9 digs
Addy Jones – 3 kills, 4 blocks
Janie Kennedy – 3 kills, 1 block
Carlee Lowry – 15 kills, 10 digs, 16 assists
Dillia Lowry – 10 kills, 3 blocks, 1 ace
Emily Redman – 10 kills, 2 aces, 23 assists.
SALE CREEK STATS:
Hope Ayers – 4 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace, 1 block
Reese Hendrix – 10 digs, 1 ace
Shelby Defore – 4 kills
Kenzie Parks – 8 digs, 9 kills, 2 aces
Chloe Hillian – 1 dig
Karma Jones – 4 digs, 24 assists, 2 aces, 1 kill
Ava Higgins – 9 digs, 7 kills, 1 block
Enslee Norwood – 13 digs, 8 kills, 3 aces.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)