Ridgeland volleyballers off to 6-0 start
As far as first weeks go, it’s hard to get out to any better start than what the Ridgeland Lady Panthers managed in the first week of the 2016 volleyball season.
Ridgeland opened the season this past Thursday by sweeping a home tri-match against area foes Northwest Whitfield and LaFayette, then went 4-0 to win the championship of the Midnight Spike tournament at Sonoraville High on Friday.
In Rossville, Ridgeland needed three sets to get past the Lady Bruins, 25-20, 19-25 and 25-10 before they swept their county rivals, 2519, 28-26.
The scores did not count in the Area 6-4A standings.
The Lady Panthers trailed 21-17 in the second set against LaFayette, but fought back to tie the score at 24. They later staved off a pair of set points for the Lady Ramblers, but middle hitter Haleigh Fogtman would put down backto-back kills for the final two points to give Ridgeland the sweep.
Te’a Owens had 26 total kills on the night, 14 coming against LaFayette. She picked up seven assists versus Northwest and five digs against LaFayette. Setter Taylor Williams recorded 42 assists. She had nine digs against Northwest and added three kills and two aces against LaFayette.
Fogtman had nine kills on the evening. Zady Carden had six against the Lady Bruins, while Jamese Miller had three in the opening match. Libero Shelby Medlin finished with 13 digs against Northwest.
Just 24 hours later, the Lady Panthers traveled south to Gordon County and survived four big tests to bring home the tournament title.
Ridgeland opened with a 25-12, 12-25, 16-14 win over the host Lady Phoenix before beating Coosa in straight sets, 25-19 and 25-21. They faced Northwest in their third match and again were pushed to three sets before they emerged with a 25-18, 20-25, 16-14 win.
That gave the Lady Panthers the top seed and they would take on second-seeded Coosa in a rematch for the championship.
Fatigue looked like it would play a major factor as Ridgeland dropped the first set, 25-11, before falling behind by 12 points in the second set as they Lady Eagles looked to close out the finals in two.
But Ridgeland wasn’t ready to go home just yet.
They fought all the way back and extended the second set before winning the marathon game, 33-31. Then, riding the momentum of the second set comeback, they claimed a 15-7 in the tiebreaking third set.
Williams had 93 assists, 27 digs and 11 kills on the night, while Owens had a monster evening with 61 kills and 39 digs.
Fogtman added 13 kills, while Carden (12 kills, 12 digs) and Miller (12 kills) were major contributors for Ridgeland (6-0 overall). Medlin finished with 47 digs, while Morgan Simmons added 25 digs.
Things will get no easier for the Lady Panthers this week. They will join Christian Heritage for a tri-match at LFO on Tuesday before heading to Coosa on Thursday for another tri-match that will also include Cass.
LaFayette opens 0-2
The Lady Ramblers had a hard-fought match against the Lady Bruins on Thursday, but came out on the wrong end of a three-setter. LaFayette won the first set 25-23 before losing the final two, 25-23 and 26-24.
Freshman Gracie Stier had eight total kills, six coming against Ridgeland, while Karissa Tatum had six total kills. Katie Dixon had four kills and three aces versus Northwest. Jade Maggard collected nine total assists and Emily Redden picked up four assists against the Lady Bruins.
LaFayette was scheduled to join Sonoraville for a tri-match at Gordon Lee on Monday, but due to newspaper deadlines, results were not available as of press time.
The Lady Ramblers will join LFO for a trimatch at Chattooga on Thursday and LaFayette, along with Gordon Lee, will take part in the LFO Invitational on Saturday.