Lady Dragons win 3-AAA
Hosted region play Tuesday
Clinton’s Josie Moody (center) is all smiles after a Lady Dragons point against Powell last Thursday in the District 3-AAA championship. Also pictured are Darbi Brumette (13) and Riley Owens (9). (photo:Ken Leinart )
The top-seeded Lady Dragons won the tournament title Thursday night with a 25-11, 25-13, 25-12 victory over sixth-seeded Powell at Wildcat Arena in Oak Ridge.
The match seemed a bit anticlimactic for Clinton (26-10) as it made quick work of the Lady Panthers (11-14), finishing off the three-set match in under 50 minutes.
But what it meant to the Lady Dragons was anything but insignificant as it was their first tournament title in school history.
That earned them the right to host the Region 2-AAA Tournament, which was played at the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium Tuesday night (results were not available at press time).
“This is one of those moments, one of those games, that you’ll look back on when you retire and talk about and remember,” Lady Dragons Coach Lorri Johnson said. “This was a most sweet win.”
Powell had to win two difficult matches on Wednesday, Oct. 4, just to survive to take on Clinton.
Clinton swept through the district’s regular-season schedule, losing just one set all season, before claiming the title with wins over Knox Central and the Lady Panthers.
Powell knocked off third-seeded Karns in four sets in its opening-round match, The Lady Panthers then outlasted No. 2 seed Oak Ridge in five sets to make an improbable run to the district championship match and to the regional tournament.
“I’m really proud of our girls,” Powell Coach Abigail Payne said. “We played hard and we didn’t quit. I’ve been working with them on their mental toughness and we’ve really grown up this year. If you look at where we are now as opposed to where we were early in the season, we lost some tough, key, close matches, and now we’re going to the regional.
“We had a long night last night and I think that showed tonight.”
The Lady Dragons just had too much firepower for Powell.
Clinton used a balanced hitting attack and it also had a service game that overwhelmed the Lady Panthers, as the Lady Dragons served up 15 aces as a team.
Josie Moody had nine kills and 12 assists for Clinton, while Riley Owens totaled seven kills and six digs. Darbi Brummett had six kills and five aces, and Lanee Carmichael chipped in with five kills.
Johnson said she was impressed with Powell’s tournament run.
“They played hard and they played well against Oak Ridge,” she said. “They didn’t quit.
“I was talking to (Payne) before the match. We were talking about the logistics for the region, and I told her to be sure that her team came in wearing crowns because they were Cinderellas.”