More than Elite
For the Lady Eagles, third time’s the charm in win over Rabun County Coosa, Rockmart sweep quarterfinal opponents to advance to Final Four
Coosa volleyball coach Nic Hann was out of breath as he walked around the court Saturday, accepting congratulations from fans.
His team had gotten the win it wanted all season long, a win that had evaded the Lady Eagles for the last two years.
Hann’s team had its struggles against a resilient Rabun County team, but ultimately prevailed against the Wildcats 25-20, 2512, 25-23 in the Class AA quarterfinals. The Lady Eagles rode a raucous home crowd to their first ever Final Four berth.
“This was a huge milestone for us. From the beginning of the season we talked about the Final Four,” Hann said. “To get here now, I don’t think it has really set in yet.”
Senior Tori Overby was the constant for Coosa, whether at the net or on the back line, recording 16 kills and 15 digs in the match. Abigail Talley led the team with 15 assists, while Kasey Thacker and Debra Barker each tallied five aces.
Each game taken was hard earned, with Rabun County never allowing an easy point and often extending rallies until a Coosa unforced error. But the seasoned Lady Eagles dug deep and found big runs to sweep their opponent.
“Rabun County, they are probably the scrappiest team I have seen this season,” Hann said. “They were getting everything up and reading everything we were doing. But the girls just battled through it.”
Coosa (40-9) led nearly the entire first game, but the Wildcats would produce small runs to remain in contention. Aided by the home crowd, Coosa made a 6-1 run to gain a 19-12 lead and held off Rabun from that point.
The second game was the easiest for Coosa, as an 11-1 run allowed Hann’s squad to cruise. It was the Lady Eagles’ best stretch of the match, as players like Overby and Talley stepped up and communication around the team was consistent.
Rabun (20-19), which won the Area 4-AA title this season, stayed composed and jumped to an 11-5 lead in the third game.
Coosa slowly chipped away until the two teams were neck and neck nearing the 25th point.
The Lady Eagles eventually got their chance, leading 24-23 when Overby spiked a kill down the middle of Rabun’s defense and ignited a roar from the Coosa fans.
“It is absolutely a dream come true,” Overby said. “We have had so much support from friends, family and fans, and we have just worked so hard for this. We deserved it.”
The win vaults Coosa into a semifinal game next Wednesday against fellow Area 3-AA squad Rockmart, a team it has beaten twice this season.
The Lady Jackets finished third at the area tournament before upsetting Harlem on Wednesday and beating Jordan in their quarterfinal match Saturday.
Hann and his team will take the same approach they’ve had all year headed into the semifinal match. And it may lead Hann to be more out of breath than he was Saturday.
“We know what we do well, and we know what they do well,” Hann said. “So we just have to prepare and continue to focus on us. We go back to work Monday and prepare as hard as we can.”