CLEVELAND, Tenn. — After a hotly contested opening 35 points in Thursday's archrival battle, sixth-ranked Cleveland showed why they are the two-time defending TSSAA State Champion.
Locking horns with crosstown Bradley Central, Coach Amy McGowan's Lady Raiders broke open an 18-17 edge with the final seven points of the opening set and never looked back for their 16th shutout of the season.
"It's always special playing Bradley and to do so in a 'Pink Out' makes it even more so," proclaimed Cleveland head coach Amy McGowan, a former two-time Miss Tennessee Volleyball performer who led the Bearettes to back-to-back state crowns in the mid 1990s, as well as a breast cancer survivor.
The 25-17, 25-12, 25-22 outcome Thursday evening at Jim Smiddy Arena, where she was a volleyball and basketball MVP, McGowan added, "Bradley is always tough.
They really battled us."
The Lady Raiders are now 24-10 on the season after defeating McMinn County in District 5-AAA play Tuesday, plus taking 2-of-3 Wednesday matches, defeating Maryville and Knox Catholic, but falling to fifth-ranked Farragut in all 2-1 matches Wednesday.
Part of homecoming week festivities, Cleveland will host Maryville in a Friday afternoon match in front of the student body.
Now 15-11 on the campaign, Bradley will travel to county rival Walker Valley Tuesday.
Although the Lady Raiders never trailed Thursday, the opening set saw the score tied five times with neither team a ble to make more than a three-point run until Cleveland capped the opening win with the final seven points behind the serving of senior Audra Capps.
The second set started strong on both ends of the court with the Bearettes battling back from a quick 4-1 deficit to close the gap to 9-7 before the visitors heated up again.
A 6-1 spurt gave Cleveland a little breathing room. Bradley tried to rally with a 3-1 run, but the Lady Raiders once again finished strong putting down nine of the final 10 points for the 13-point victory.
Like she had in the first set, freshman GiGi Williams put the final exclamation point on the win with a kill on a "slam dunk."
The third set started the same as the previous two with the guest inching ahead 4-3 before going off on another tangent, this time with a 9-1 run behind the serving of back-to-back Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year Lauren Hurst.
The spurt included four "dunks" (a downed shot on a ball that just barely clears the net), two each from the 6-foot-2 duo of juniors All-Stater Gunny brock and Addie McKinney.
Although they got down by nine points twice, the Bearettes battled back to chip away at the deficit until pulling within striking distance at 24-22, but once again Cleveland closed the door with its 42nd kill shot of the evening.
Hurst led the hit parade with 14 power slams, tips and push points, plus had a pair of aces in 13 serves between the lines.
Brock exploded for 13 kills and had a pair of blocks, while sophomore setter Ava Franklin handed out 25 assists, plus had a trio of well-placed "dinks."
Senior Laney Inman topped the Bradley effort with nine spikes, while sophomore Ma'Ryah Greenwood downed seven and blocked a shot.
Junior setter Libby Stewart handed out a dozen "dimes," 11 digs and downed a trio of aces, while sophomore Lilly Winters had a half dozen helps. Sophomore libero Wyatt Powell dug out a dozen shots for the hosts.