If you wanted to watch a rematch of last year's Division II state volleyball championship match, then you should have been at Baylor Friday afternoon.
The defending state champ Baylor Lady Red Raiders look poised and ready to defend as they beat Father Ryan 3-1, winning by scores of 25-15, 25-14, 22-25 and 25-20.
Baylor improves to 39-4 overall and 10-0 in region play while the Lady Irish are now 36-8 overall and 8-2 in the region, both losses coming against Baylor.
With the exception of the third set, Baylor played almost flawless volleyball as everything they tried worked. Not that Father Ryan was playing poorly, but Baylor forced the issue and cruised to quick wins in the first two sets.
Baylor's intensity level dropped a notch or two in the third set while Father Ryan's increased and the Lady Irish were able to win by holding off Baylor at the end.
Then in the fourth set, Baylor got six straight service points from Ashleigh Cook to start things off and never looked back. Coach Sarah Lail called a timeout when Father Ryan got to within four points at 14-10, but that lead quickly stretched back to 18-10.
A hitting error by the Lady Irish extended Baylor's lead to 24-16 and the visitors from Nashville were able to score four straight points, but a kill from Gabby Gray clinched the win as Baylor beat the Lady Irish for the third straight time.
"It's always a tough match with those guys, but I'm super pleased that we were able to win the region by taking this match today," said Lail after the final point had been scored.
"Winning the region was one of our goals at the start of the season and we accomplished that. I thought we played well offensively and defensively throughout, but we sort of got out of system in that third set. We had a few problems with serve receive and Father Ryan was able to capitalize.
"It was good to have Gabby back as we knew we'd need her today, but it was great to see others step up around her. That's what it takes to win state championships and we're blessed to have a team filled with really good players.
"This clinched the region and we had another great crowd. It just goes to show what an awesome community we have here at Baylor," Lail added.
Gray had been sidelined this week with some strained ligaments in her thumb, but that didn't seem to affect her play on Friday. Despite her thumb being heavily taped, she was still able to record 16 kills and 13 digs.
She is certainly one of Baylor's leaders, but those girls in red have a lot of weapons and they can beat you in any number of ways.
Haven Bethune continues to have an outstanding senior season and she was instrumental in Friday's win as well, collecting 17 kills, 19 assists and nine digs.
Jane Wilson continues to get better and stronger and finished with 10 kills while Sarah Sumida had 29 assists and Lilly Turner 15 digs.
Jinx Cockerham is the Father Ryan head coach, but was absent to take care of a family medical issue. Assistant coach Susanne Spore filled in and thought her girls played well against a strong Baylor squad.
"We fought back, but we had to work hard for everything we got today," she began.
"We were able to cut out some of the unforced errors in that third set and we were more aggressive with our serves. But the important thing is that we didn't give up.
"It's a new season now with the state tournament coming up. There's a lot of parity in this league and we all know that on any given day, anybody can beat anybody else," Spore concluded.
Lauren Dorrell is Father Ryan's best player and one of the best in the state for that matter. She finished with 18 kills, but she also had a bunch of unforced errors as Baylor did an outstanding job of returning quite a few of her powerful overhead shots.
Maggie Thompson finished with 33 assists while Annabeth Healy had 15 digs.
Baylor will conclude its regular season tomorrow with home matches against Ensworth and Harpeth Hall. Both will be played in the morning to avoid a conflict with the 1 p.m. memorial service for Sumner Smith, the 16-year-old Baylor junior who died earlier this week of an apparent heart problem.
BAYLOR STATS:
Haven Bethune -- 17 kills, 19 assists, 9 digs
Ashleigh Cook -- 1 ace, 4 kills, 1 block, 12 digs
Jane Wilson -- 10 kills, 1.5 blocks
Gabby Gray -- 1 ace, 16 kills, 1 assist, 13 digs
Lilly Turner -- 1 ace, 4 assists, 15 digs
Sarah Sumida -- 1 kill, 2 blocks, 29 assists, 9 digs
Ally Craig -- 7 kills, 1/2 block
Denver Rogers -- 3 digs.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)