Gordon Lee holds off Saddle Ridge to complete 18-0 NGAC championship season
Ringgold
The Gordon Lee Lady Trojans volleyball team cleared the final hurdle this past Thursday night as the Navy-and-White completed an 18-0 undefeated season.
But their fourth consecutive North Georgia Athletic Conference tournament championship didn’t come without a fight.
Top-seeded Gordon Lee, who cruised by Ringgold in the semifinals, would be pushed to three sets by second-seeded Saddle Ridge in the championship. However, the Lady Trojans would get the job done on their own home floor, winning the match, 25-11, 19-25 and 25-12.
“Right after we won it, I got extremely emotional, probably because it was the third year in a row for this particular group the third set, Ringgold tried to take advantage. But 5-foot-7 freshman Lexy Taylor took up the slack for the Spartans, hammering home three powerful kills as GAC stormed out to a 13-5 lead at the halfway point.
GAC would lead by 10 points on two occasions, the last coming at 20-10, but the Lady Tigers would thrill the home crowd with one final burst of energy. With Zoie Metcalf toeing the service line, Ringgold reeled off five consecutive points to chop the lead in half (of eighth graders),” head coach Tammy Harkleroad said. “I’ve had three or four of them to be on the winning team for three straight years, which is pretty cool. To win it and finished completely undefeated is pretty special.”
It was the first time all season long that the Lady Trojans had been pushed to a third set, which Harkleroad said caused a bit of concern among her team after the second set.
“We had a very close game with Saddle Ridge the last time (26-24, 26-24),” she explained. “I told them before we got started that we were going to have to go out and take this championship if we wanted it because I knew Saddle Ridge wasn’t going to just give it to us.
“There was a momentum shift after that second set and we and force the Spartans to call timeout.
However, after the brief break, GAC would turn to its leading hitter to put away the match. Schrieber would deliver three kills down the stretch, including her 23rd and final kill of the night on match point to put the Spartans into the Elite Eight.
Despite the straightsets loss, Boren said her players had every reason to hold their heads high.
“(The way we played) was definitely something to be proud of,” she explained. “Our girls never gave up and I think that was the fasted-paced game we’ve played all season. Most of the time started to go into panic mode a little. But I told them to calm down and reminded them about what we talked about before the match. I told them that if we they wanted to take (the championship), we needed to jump out to a big lead (in the third set) and we did.”
Gordon Lee libero Mary Kate Roberts was named the tournament’s MVP after collecting nine kills, an ace and 53 digs in the three-set victory.
Emoree Rogers had six kills, six aces and 10 digs. Brooklyn Hudson finished with nine digs, six kills and a pair of aces. Arilyn Lee added 13 kills, five digs and two aces. Alex Finch picked up 10 digs and an ace. Chloe Day had eight aces to go with three digs and a kill, while Lauren Oliver chipped in with two kills.
“To go undefeated when I called timeout, it wasn’t because we were playing bad. I was just letting them catch their breath and get something to drink because (the action) was just going and going non-stop.”
Bickley had four kills and 14 digs on the night to go with four blocks and an ace. Metcalf finished with 12 assists, nine digs, five aces and two kills. Hall had three kills, two aces, a block and a dozen digs, while Lauren Terrell added 11 digs, a kill, an ace and an assist.
Also contributing for the Lady Tigers were Bethany Thomason (3 blocks, 1 kill), Jasley Brooks (8 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace), Jewel Parham (1 and win like we did, this was really like a dream team,” Harkleroad added. “This type of season doesn’t happen very often and it’s a little sad now that it’s over.”
Colby Charland had 10 kills, six blocks, four digs and two aces for Saddle Ridge. Daisy Felipe racked up 22 assists and added four digs. Samantha Cramer picked up seven digs, two aces and two kills, while Justice Devlin added five blocks and two digs.
Also contributing for the Lady Mustangs were Kailey Boulware (8 digs, 1 ace), Brylee Durham (7 digs, 1 kill), Natalee McClain (2 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill), Jaden Tucker (1 ace, 1 block) and Winter Johnson (2 digs, 1 ace).
Saddle Ridge ended an outstanding season with a 15-3 overall mark. All three losses came at the hands of the Lady Trojans. kill, 1 dig) and Emily Ridley (2 digs).
Tuesday also marked the final high school match for Ringgold seniors Bickley, Hall and Terrell.
“I just love this group,” Boren said. “They’re great girls on and off the court and they get along so well. These three seniors will be so hard to replace. I’m so thankful to have girls that give 100 percent in practice and games, but also love the sport and have fun while playing. We all really just enjoyed practicing, traveling and being a part of the team together.”
Heritage eliminated by Cartersville
The Lady Generals
saw a 30-win season come to a close last Tuesday with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-20 loss at Area 5 champion and No. 9-ranked Cartersville in the second round of the Class AAAA state playoffs.
Macy Harris had seven kills and five digs for Heritage (3014), while Kali Brown picked up six kills and six digs.
Head coach Kari Cooper said replacing her senior class would be a difficult task.
“The majority of the seniors have been starters or key contributors to the program for several seasons, so losing them will mean that fresh faces will have to step up in key positions,” she
explained. “We’re losing a senior setter who has been in charge of running our offense for two seasons, so we will have to work in the off season to prepare our new leader.
“Fortunately for our program, we have a talented group of motivated players who are eager to step up and take over these roles.”
No teams from Area 6 advanced to the Elite Eight.
Area champion and No. 8-ranked Northwest Whitfield - the only other team besides Heritage to get into the second round - was eliminated last Tuesday with a straight-sets home loss to top-ranked Blessed Trinity in Tunnel Hill.