Baylor's Zoe Ubamadu (11) drives home a kill shot against Father Ryan Tuesday during a state volleyball tournament match at MTSU's Murphy Center. The Lady Red Raiders swept the Purple Irish 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-23).
photo by Dennis Norwood
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The third time was not the charm for Father Ryan here at MTSU’s Murphy Center Tuesday afternoon.
Facing the Baylor Lady Red Raiders in the opening round of the TSSAA D-II Class AA state volleyball tournament, the defending state runner-up Baylor squad defeated their Nashville rivals in three straight sets, winning by scores of 25-19, 25-12 and 25-23.
Baylor improves to 40-5 with the win while Father Ryan is now 19-15 for the season. Baylor had the rest of the day off as they await the winner of the Brentwood Academy-Briarcrest match on Wednesday while Father Ryan will play the loser of that match later Tuesday.
As has been the case in many times past, the Purple Irish brought a sizeable cheering section that was loud and proud. The longer the match went, the quieter they got as Baylor seemed to have an answer for everything they attempted.
Baylor coach Sarah Lail felt like her team didn’t play as well as they have in weeks past, but they got progressively better as the match progressed.
That was more than enough for another win over a normally tough opponent.
“We were out of system more than normal and we made a lot of errors, but our passing got progressively better and our defense fueled our offense later in the match,” said Lail after a post-match discussion with her team. Zoe Ubamadu then gave her team the 2-0 lead with a kill.
The third set was by far the best and most competitive of the match as Father Ryan simply wasn’t ready to toss in the white towel.
Baylor had a 5-1 lead early, but Ryan kept chipping away and got within 11-9 before Lail called a timeout.
An ace from Marilee Hulse allowed the Lady Irish to knot the score at 17-17 and they took the lead for the first time all match on a tip from Kate Hoots on the next point.
A kill from Ryan’s Savannah Gibbs gave her team a 23-21 lead and it looked like the match might be extended, but Baylor rallied with four straight points to win with Ubamadu’s block earning the winning point.
Craig led the way for Baylor with a dozen kills while Sumida had 21 assists. Rogers was credited with eight digs while Ubamadu finished with six blocks.
BAYLOR STATS:
Sarah Barker – 4 kills, 2 blocks
Elizabeth Case – 3 aces, 7 digs
Sarah Sumida – 1 kill, 1 block, 21 assists, 6 digs
Hayden Barton – 2 aces, 2 assists, 6 digs
Zoe Ubamadu – 3 kills, 6 blocks
Ally Craig – 3 aces, 12 kills, 4 digs, 4 blocks
Laura Kate May – 7 digs
Denver Rogers – 4 aces, 2 kills, 8 digs
Lexie Lauendine – 3 kills, 1 block, 3 digs.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Baylor's Sarah Sumida, right, brings the ball back into play against Father Ryan during a state tournament match Tuesday afternoon in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Also pictured is Ally Craig (12). The Lady Red Raiders won by 3-0 over the Purple Irish.
photo by Dennis Norwood