Gordon Lee spikers earn county sweep
Two very good volleyball teams battled for county bragging rights in Chickamauga last Tuesday night and when all the dust had finally settled, it was the Gordon Lee Lady Trojans coming up with arguably it biggest victory of the season to date, 25-20 and 2522, over the Lafayette Lady Ramblers.
Gordon Lee coach Adam Crowley said the win over the (Class 4A) No. 6-ranked Lady Ramblers would be a big confidence-booster for his team, especially coming on the heels of a three-set victory over (Class 4A) No. 10-ranked Heritage a week earlier.
“Our serving has been the difference (lately),” Crowley explained. “We’ve started serving it a little harder and it’s really helped us out a lot. Plus, our girls just seem to want it more right now. We’re getting more excited about each point and bringing that emotion has really made the difference.”
Gordon Lee, ranked No. 3 in the latest Class 1A/2A Public School poll, got four kills, five digs and two blocks from Brooklyn Hudson in the victory. Arilyn Lee finished with five kills. M.K. Roberts had 15 assists and Madison Mayberry picked up nine digs.
In the opening match of the evening, Gordon Lee coasted to a 25-8, 25-9 and 25-16 win over the Dade County Lady Wolverines in their first official Area 7 (Class 1A/2A Public School) match of the year. Hudson had eight kills and two blocks. Lee had six kills and two blocks. Roberts had six kills and one block to go with four digs and 16 assists, while Annie Mcdaniel helped out on the defensive end with six digs.
Fresh off the win over Lafayette, the Navy-andwhite avoided a letdown on Thursday as they took down county rival Ridgeland, 25-21 and 25-21, in another home match.
The Lady Panthers led 11-3 in the second set, hoping to force a tiebreaking third. However, Gordon Lee would score 10 of the next 12 points to tie the match at 13-13 before going on to the victory.
Roberts had 14 assists and nine digs for the Lady Trojans (15-2, 1-0). Lee had six kills and three blocks. Hudson recorded four kills and Sally Thomison finished with four aces.
For Ridgeland (10-7), Jayda Jenkins had 10 kills and four digs. Justice Devlin had four kills and three assists. Natalee Mcclain had five aces and a pair of kills, while Kailey Boulware dished out 15 assists.
Both teams also paid tribute to former Lafayette Lady Rambler Karissa Tatum by wearing orange and black shoelaces during the match. Tatum, a 2017 LHS graduate, passed away earlier on Thursday in Savannah.