MURFREESBORO – The opening day of the TSSAA State Volleyball Tournament wasn’t very friendly to Chattanooga teams in the Class AA division.
Signal Mountain won its first match before losing its second while Hixson was even less fortunate, losing both of its matches in five grueling sets each.
Perhaps the biggest headache these teams had to handle was a power outage in MTSU’s Murphy Center, which happened in the middle of Hixson’s match with Knoxville Catholic.
Signal Mountain was waiting to play following Hixson's match.
The Lady Irish had a 2-1 set lead when darkness hit. Almost three hours later, the match was moved next door to the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium.
Hixson battled back to even the match with a heart-stopping 26-24 win in the fourth set before falling in the fifth by a 15-5 final. Hixson had won the first set by a 28-26 margin before losing the next two by scores of 25-14 and 25-22.
The AA action was then transferred to Siegel High where Hixson squared off against Dyersburg.
The Lady Trojans won by scores of 25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 25-23 and 16-14.
Signal Mountain had beaten Dyersburg in four sets before falling to Knoxville Catholic.
Scores in that first match had the Lady Eagles winning by 25-18, 25-12, 22-25 and 25-20.
The second match was equally as close with the Lady Irish prevailing by 25-20, 19-25, 23-25, 25-19 and 15-10.
“We played a fabulous fourth set as we executed like we wanted to, but that wasn’t the case in the fifth,” said Hixson coach Janet Tate following the first match.
“A good team will pick you apart in a situation like that and they did, but we’re not done. All things considered, we played well,” the veteran coach nodded.
It was a tough pill to swallow for Tate and her girls after the last match that ended an outstanding season at 38-15 with its first trip to the state tournament ever. But the coach was quick to remind her players that they had played their hearts out and had no reason to hang their heads.
“We played hard in that last match and we deserved to be here, but they have no regrets about their effort. I couldn’t ask for any more from them today. It was a really even match, but sometimes the ball just doesn’t fall your way,” she added at the end.
Paige Lawson was the leader for Hixson in both matches with a combined 33 kills and 43 digs while Tay Tay Staten had 24 kills and 27 digs.
Haleigh Raber finished the day with 37 digs while Morghan White had 36 digs and 36 assists.
Signal Mountain coach Jennifer Redman has been down this path before as similar results sent her team to the loser’s bracket last year after opening play with a win.
The Lady Eagles kept fighting last year before losing to CAK in the finals, so Redman was quick to remind them of the challenge ahead on Thursday.
“We played hard and even when we got behind, we never gave up,” she said after the win over Dyersburg.
“We got some good passes so our big hitters could swing and that was a key, but it was a huge team effort and that’s what it takes at this point in the season,” she continued.
She wasn’t quite as optimistic following the loss to Catholic.
“We were inconsistent the entire match as our blocking was really bad. We had a nice lead in the fourth set and let them come back. Our big players didn’t play big in that last match.
“I reminded them that tomorrow will be an all-day affair and that we’ve got to be ready to battle. I really can’t pinpoint the problem, but the good news is that we live to play another day. I hope we’re ready,” Redman concluded.
Sophomore Maia Rackel had the best stats with 18 kills in each match while tossing in 15 digs in the first one and 16 in the second.
Aubrie Johnson had 27 kills for the day while Aryn Sanders had 57 digs for the two matches. Sydney Lapinski had 49 assists in the first match and 42 in the second while added 16 and 15 digs in the two battles.
Signal Mountain returns to action at 10 a.m. (CST) against Hume Fogg with the winner taking on the winner of Page and Dyersburg.
HIXSON STATS VS. KNOX CATHOLIC:
Tay Tay Staten – 14 kills, 12 digs, 4 blocks
Paige Lawson – 10 kills, 15 digs, 3 blocks
Kiera Taylor – 1 dig
Bailey Burba – 1 ace, 8 digs, 10 assists
Courtney Jones – 2 kills, 1 block
Dakota Rawiszer – 2 aces, 2 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks
Haleigh Raber – 20 digs
Morghan White – 1 kill, 12 digs, 14 assists.
HIXSON STATS VS. DYERSBURG:
Tay Tay Staten – 3 aces, 10 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks
Paige Lawson – 23 kills, 28 digs, 3 blocks, 1 ace
Kiera Taylor – 2 aces, 2 digs
Bailey Burba – 1 ace, 1 kill, 21 digs, 21 assists
Courtney Jones – 2 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks
Dakota Rawiszer – 9 kills, 7 digs
Haleigh Raber – 17 digs, 1 kill
Morghan White – 1 ace, 3 kills, 24 digs, 22 assists.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS VS. DYERSBURG:
Aryn Sanders – 24 digs, 1 ace
Nicole Terfloth – 12 digs
Clarissa Northrup – 3 digs, 2 aces
Kennady Collick – 2 aces, 15 digs
Aubrie Johnson – 4 digs, 10 kills, 2 blocks
Mackenzie Lewis – 1 dig, 6 kills
Hallie Hunt – 9 digs, 9 kills
Maia Rackel – 18 kills, 15 digs
Sidney Lapinski – 49 assists, 16 digs, 2 kills
Cora Hansen – 8 kills, 1 dig, 3 blocks.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN STATS VS. KNOX. CATHOLIC:
Aryn Sanders – 2 aces, 1 kill, 33 digs
Nicole Terfloth – 1 ace, 10 digs
Clarissa Northrup – 5 digs
Kennady Collick – 1 ace, 3 digs
Aubrie Johnson – 1 ace, 17 kills, 1 dig, 1 block
Mackenzie Lewis – 1 ace, 2 kills, 9 digs, 1 block
Hallie Hunt – 1 kill
Maia Rackel – 18 kills, 16 digs, 6 blocks
Sidney Lapinski – 2 aces, 2 kills, 15 digs, 1 block, 42 assists
Olivia Powers – 2 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks
Cora Hansen – 2 kills 5 digs, 2 blocks.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)