Ridgeland falls to No. 5 seed in area

Although they have 20 wins against just eight losses this season, area play has been something of a bummer for the Ridgeland Lady Panthers so far this season.

Sporting just a 2-2 area record going into last Tuesday night’s tri-match at Northwest Whitfield, the Lady Panthers fell to 2-4 against Area 6-4A teams after losses to Gilmer and Northwest.

The suddenly red-hot Lady Bobcats outlasted Ridgeland, 25-14, 10-25, 26-24, in the opening match. Te’a Owens had 16 kills, 16 digs and six aces in the loss. Taylor Williams had 27 assists to go with four aces and three kills.

Zady Carden added four kills and five digs, while Morgen Simmons finished with 15 digs and a pair of aces.

In the nightcap, the Lady Panthers were swept by the Lady Bruins, 25-22, 25-14. Williams had nine digs and nine assists. Owens collected 10 digs and five kills, while Simmons recorded eight digs and two aces.

Ridgeland concluded their week on Thursday as they split two, tough, three-set matches in Ringgold. The Lady Panthers picked up a 1025, 25-22, 25-21 win over the Lady Tigers, but fell to Heritage, 25-10, 1625, 25-23, in a non-area match.

Owens had 12 kills and 16 digs against Ringgold. Williams had 21 assists. Carden finished with five kills and five aces. Haleigh Fogtman finished with five kills. Jamese Miller added three and Simmons collected five digs.

Owens added to her season totals with 15 kills and 18 digs against Heritage, while Williams had four kills, nine digs and 21 assists. Simmons also finished with nine digs. Fogtman had four kills and Shelby Medlin recorded eight digs.

Ridgeland will conclude the regular season on Tuesday with a tri-match against LFO and Gordon Lee. They will play at LaFayette on Thursday in the opening round of the Area 6-4A tournament.

The doubleelimination tournament will shift to LaFayette High on Saturday with the top four teams advancing to state. The higher-seeded teams will host in the first round.