VOLLEYBALL

The Lady Eagles trailed 11-9, but went on a 7-1 spurt to take the lead for good. The turning point came on a disputed call out of bounds in which Gordon Lee unsuccessfully argued that the ball had been tipped by a Coosa player. However, the match referees saw it differently and the resulting point would tie the match at 12. A pair of blocks would then put Coosa out in front, this time to stay.

Gordon Lee would briefly chop the Lady Eagles’ lead down to 16-14, but with Elina Benton at the serving line, Coosa would go on a final, decisive 7-0 run, including a pair of aces, to erase any hopes of a Gordon Lee comeback.

Brooklyn Hudson finished with eight kills for Gordon Lee, followed by five from Delaney Bridges. M.K. Roberts collected eight digs and seven assists.

Madison Mayberry had 13 digs, while Sally Thomison finished with 10.

“Delaney is a huge part of our team,” Crowley said of his squad’s lone senior. “It’s going to be awful losing her, but we will try and retool with what we have coming back next year and hopefully we’ll be a force to be reckoned with. All of these girls are awesome. We had never gotten to the Final Four before, but they worked so hard to get here and now they know what it takes. We’re already ready to get back at it.”

Coosa went on to defeat Elite Scholars Academy (2125, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19) to win another state title on Saturday, while Gordon Lee saw its season end with a 34-7 overall record.

Crowley also announced that Bridges and junior Maribeth Blaylock had earned All-state status for the 2018 season. They are the first two Gordon Lee volleyball players to be named All-state since Julianna Spradlin in 2015.

From B1