It was a rematch of last week's District 6-AA volleyball final on Tuesday night at Hixson for first place in Region 3-AA.
The results were the same as last week, but the second time around wasn't nearly as close as the Hixson Lady Wildcats played one of their best matches of the season in sweeping the Lady Pounders by scores of 25-14, 25-14 and 25-22.
Hixson earned its spot in the final with a 3-0 win over Loudon while Central advanced with an easy 3-0 win over Polk County.
Hixson's scores in that first match were 25-9, 25-18 and 25-14 while Central's winning margin over the Lady Wildcats were by 25-16, 25-18 and 25-4.
Both of those semifinal matches lasted less than an hour, but when the whistle blew to signal the start of the championship match, Hixson was ready to rock and roll.
An ace from Rebekah Hill allowed Central to tie the score at 6-6 in the first set, but it wasn't as close after that as Hixson took control by scoring eight of the next 11 points.
A kill from Hill trimmed Hixson's lead to 14-11, but the Lady Wildcats finished the set by scoring 11 of the final 14 points to take the 1-0 lead.
The second set was much like the first as it was close for the first 10 points as the score was tied five times at the start.
A kill from Paige Lawson gave Hixson the 11-10 lead and she followed that up with six straight service points as the Lady Wildcats quickly stretched the lead to 17-10. Another kill from Lawson a minute later was the winning point as Hixson's confidence just continued to grow.
The Lady Pounders played their best in the third set and maybe Hixson let up a little bit, but that last set was the closest of the match.
A hitting error by Hixson allowed Central to take the lead at 19-18, causing Hixson coach Janet Tate to call a timeout to regroup her team. Whatever she said must have been perfect as her team scored five straight points before Central called a timeout.
A kill from Dakota Rawiszer knotted the score at 21 while four straight service points from Lawson gave the edge back to Hixson.
A kill from Brooke Parrott and two hitting errors by Hixson allowed Central to get within a point at 23-22, but a key kill from Tay Tay Staten put Hixson at match point and it was over following a block by Rawiszer.
"We talked before the match saying that we wanted to win in three straight, but we came out ready to play," said Tate after her team had won for the 37th time in 50 matches.
"I really believe that we're still improving, but I believe this is our first region title ever and we'll be hosting a sectional for the first time on Thursday.
"Central had a few mismatches in their lineup and we paid attention to that as we had to play smart volleyball and we did. And Tay Tay is an awesome player. What fabulous leaping ability she has as she's a great go-to girl. She doesn't say a whole lot, but she wants the ball," the coach continued.
Staten finished the championship match with 11 kills, four digs and three blocks and was named the tournament MVP. She was happier than a kid at Christmas once the final point had been scored.
"I felt like we all played together as a team, but I needed to stay on top of the ball. It feels so good to win and to be able to play one more match here at home, but I think this was one of my better matches," she suggested.
Central coach Jeff Baughman paused for a moment before giving his thoughts on Tuesday's final match.
"Tonight for some reason just wasn't our night," he began after his team's record dropped to 20-11.
"We have plenty of ability, but we just had an off-night. Now we have to turn this into determination for Thursday's match because we're not out of it yet. We didn't have enough earned points as most of what we scored came off Hixson errors.
"And we made way too many mistakes, but one bad match doesn't define our season. I believe in these girls and I know we have the ability to win on Thursday and go to Murfreesboro next week for the state tournament," he concluded.
While Staten was honored as the tournament MVP, other all-tournament selections from Hixson included Morghan White, Bailey Burba and Lawson. Central's picks included Sam Scott, Lexie Ainslie and Hill. The other two included Loudon's Brianna Baxter and Polk County's Aubrey Bowman.
While Staten was really outstanding for Hixson, Lawson finished with 13 kills and 10 digs while Burba had 15 assists and seven digs. White was credited with 11 digs and 10 assists.
Hill had nine kills and six digs to lead Central while Ainslie finished with 18 assists in addition to eight digs and four kills. Scott had seven digs and an ace.
Hixson will be at home on Thursday to face the Region 4-AA runner-up Upperman Bees while Central will be on the road to face the 4-AA champion Signal Mountain Lady Eagles. Thursday's winners advance to the state tournament, which starts next Wednesday in Murfreesboro.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN won the Region 4-AA title with a 3-0 win over Upperman, the Lady Eagles winning by scores of 25-21, 25-19 and 25-7 after defeating Macon County, 25-20, 25-18 and 25-15.
Aubrie Johnson had 18 kills to lead Signal Mountain, now 32-19, while teammates Aryn Sanders had 24 digs and Sidney Lapinski 33 assists.
"We got off to a slow start, but I thought we played well as we just tried to approach it like just another match," said Signal Mountain coach Jennifer Redman following the match.
"We had to stay focused on each point and we tried to be calm. Our serve receive and our defense were both spot on as it's nice to have several options when things are working well.
"Aubrie Johnson played her heart out as she had a great match, but we know that Thursday's match against Central will be another big challenge for us," Redman added.
Signal Mountain won its only state title in 2010 before finishing as runner-up last year.
HIXSON STATS VS. CENTRAL
Paige Lawson -- 1 ace, 13 kills, 10 digs
Bailey Burba -- 1 ace, 7 digs, 15 assists
Morghan White -- 1 ace, 4 kills, 11 digs, 10 assists
Tay Tay Staten -- 11 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks
Haleigh Raber -- 12 digs
Courtney Jones -- 1 kill, 2 digs, 2 blocks
Dakota Rawiszer -- 3 aces, 7 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks
Kiera Taylor -- 1 ace.
CENTRAL STATS VS. HIXSON:
Brooke Parrott -- 6 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs
Hailey East -- 4 kills, 1 block
Lexie Ainslie -- 4 kills, 8 digs, 18 assists
Emma Beach -- 2 digs
Adrian McClurg -- 2 kills, 1 block
Sam Scott -- 7 digs, 1 ace
Rebekah Hill -- 9 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs
Caitlin Maupin -- 4 digs
Zariah McDonald -- 1 dig
Makayla Smmith -- 1 dig.
HIXSON STATS VS. LOUDON:
Paige Lawson -- 8 kills 2 digs, 1 block
Bailey Burba -- 2 aces, 7 digs, 16 assists
Morghan White -- 4 aces, 2 kills, 11 digs, 7 assists
Tay Tay Staten -- 8 aces, 8 kills, 4 digs
Haleigh Raber -- 14 digs
Courtney Jones -- 5 kills, 3 digs
Sam McKee -- 1 kill
Dakota Rawiszer -- 1 ace, 6 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks
Kiera Taylor -- 3 digs
Rachel Cline -- 4 digs, 1 ace
Marly Fitzpatrick -- 2 digs.
CENTRAL STATS VS. POLK COUNTY:
Brooke Parrott -- 5 kills, 2 aces, 4 digs
Hailey East -- 6 kills, 2 digs
Lexie Ainslie -- 3 kills, 3 aces, 21 assists, 5 digs
Adrian McClurg -- 2 kills
Sam Scott -- 5 aces, 9 digs
Rebekah Hill -- 10 kills, 3 aces, 1 dig
Caitlin Maupin -- 1 ace.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS VS. UPPERMAN:
Aryn Sanders -- 3 aces, 24 digs
Kennady Collick -- 1 kill, 5 digs
Aubrie Johnson -- 18 kills, 3 aces, 4 digs, 3 blocks
Mackenzie Lewis -- 2 kills, 1 dig
Hallie Hunt -- 8 kills, 1 dig
Maia Rackel -- 6 kills, 10 digs, 3 blocks
Sidney Lapinski -- 33 assists, 1 ace, 2 digs
Cora Hansen -- 1 kill, 2 digs
Nicole Terfloth -- 4 aces, 4 digs.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)