Ridgeland spikes Carver
The CarverColumbus Lady Tigers sure didn’t look like a No. 4 seed when they climbed off the bus and they sure didn’t warm up like a No. 4 seed in the minutes leading up to their Class 4A state tournament opener against Ridgeland.
However, the Ridgeland Lady Panthers sure did play like a No. 1 seed.
The Black-and-White used three significant runs, one in each set, to sweep their way to a 25-14, 25-19, 25-17 victory last Thursday. The win puts Ridgeland (29-10) in the Sweet 16 for the third straight year and assures them of one final home match this week.
Carver, which enjoyed an overall height advantage, used that advantage for some early kills and some early blocks as they trailed 9-8 in the opening set. But Abbi Witherow would step to the line for the Lady Panthers and serve up nine consecutive points, quickly giving Ridgeland a 10-point lead and putting the game out of reach.
The Lady Panthers were down 3-2 in the second set when they scored eight points in a row to assume control. Te’a Owens, the Area 6-4A Player of the Year, had four impressive aces off her jump serve, including three in a row at one point, as Ridgeland pulled away to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five match.
The third and what would turn out to be the final set again saw Ridgeland with a 9-8 lead when they reeled off a 6-1 spurt to grab a 15-9 lead. But Carver’s athleticism would come to the forefront as they whittled the deficit down to 16-14, forcing Ridgeland head coach April Lemonds to call timeout.
And that would be as close as Carver would get.
Owens buried a huge kill coming out of the break and they would win six of the next eight points to re-establish control. A final Owens ace and a kill by Tori Elliott put the Lady Panthers at match point before one final unreturnable serve clinched the victory.
“Sometimes our M.O. is to dig ourselves some holes, but the one really good thing about this team is their willingness to come back,” head coach April Lemonds said. “They just don’t quit. In the last timeout, I challenged our girls not to give them another point because we had already given them a lot of the 14 points they had and they always seem to
rise the challenge.”
Owens had 16 kills and a pair of blocks in the victory. Taylor Williams had 27 assists, eight digs, two kills and a block, while Haleigh Fogtman (5 kills) and Jamese Miller (4 kills) helped the cause on offense.
Zady Carden collected four kills and three digs. Elliott
finished with three kills, while Jayda Jenkins had a kill and a block. Morgen Simmons had three digs and three assists from her libero position, while Witherow (6 digs) and Shanna Burk (1 dig) aided on defense.
“(Carver’s) height alone was impressive because we’re a short volleyball team,” Lemonds added. “They put up some nice blocks, but I thought our girls did a nice job of playing
smart volleyball and going around those blocks. That’s what you have to do. If you can’t bang it through the blocks, you have to figure out a way to get it around them.”
Ridgeland’s next opponent will be Troup. The No. 3 seed from Area 5 was a 3-0 winner over Area 3 No. 2 seed Burke County, 25-15, 2520, and 25-5.
The RidgelandTroup match will begin at 5:30 on Thursday.