One set short
Lady Mavs’ volleyball season comes to end
The Anderson County Lady Mavericks Volleyball team fell just short of a TSSAA State Tournament birth on Thursday night.
After dropping the Region-2 Final, Anderson County was forced to travel for their TSSAA Sectionals match. The Lady Mavs never quit, and fought valiantly despite the hostile environment.
Last Tuesday, in the Region-2 Tournament Semifinal, Anderson County faced off against the Alcoa High School Tornadoes.
The Lady Mavs took the first two sets, but the Lady T’s did not lie down. Alcoa stormed back to take the third set, and crushed Anderson County’s momentum.
Yet, great teams find a way to win, even when they are not playing at their full potential. The Lady Mavs grinded out a fourth set victory, and cemented their spot in the Sectionals, with a 3-1 victory over the Lady Tornadoes — 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 25-20. Hannah Freeman finished the match with 27 assists, 19 digs, one kill and one ace.
Morgan McMurray led the Lady Mavs in kills with 11, and added seven digs. Matti Rowland followed with ten kills and two blocks.
The Lady Mavs’ Region Semifinal win over Alcoa not only solidified their spot in a Sectionals match, but it guaranteed Anderson County a date with Knoxville Catholic in the Region Championship match. The Lady Fighting Irish are a repetitively good ball club, and are led by outside hitter, ETSU commit Olivia Cunningham. Cunningham led Catholic’s attack with 13 kills, which was reinforced with stingy Lady Irish defense. Anderson County was unable to find a rhythm, and Catholic won the Region Title in straight sets—25-18, 25-16, 25-21. Hannah Freeman tallied 22 assists, five kills, five digs, and one black. Offensively, McMurray led the team in kills with eight, while Rowland added seven of her own. Rowland also had a team-leading four blocks. Leah Freeman led the Lady Mavs defensively with 12 digs.
The loss to Knoxville Catholic meant that Anderson County had to travel, where they would meet the Region-1 Champions, Sullivan South High School. TSSAA Sectionals are simple: a win equals a state tournament birth, while a loss equals the end of the season. The Lady Rebels took the first set, but Anderson County battled back to take a 2-1 advantage. After earning second and third set victories, Anderson County dropped the fourth and fifth sets—which brought their 2018 campaign to a close. The Lady Rebels would move on, with a 3-2 win over the Lady Mavs—25-15, 15-20, 23-25, 25-20, 15-9.
This is a young Lady Mavs volleyball team—and reached the State Sectionals. Anderson County has plenty of potential, and will be even better next year. As chemistry, experience, and expectations increase, the excitement for the 2019 season grows. Those surrounding this program know that this team could make a state title run sooner than later. From The Courier News, congratulations to the Anderson County Volleyball team on a successful 2018 season.