Lady Jackets fall short against Coosa in Class AA semifinals as season ends with long run
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It took a little more this time for the Coosa volleyball team to claim a victory over its area foe, Rockmart. Of course, there was a lit- tle more riding on the outcome.
Behind a home crowd filled to capacity in the school’s auxiliary gym, Coosa had just a little more in the tank against a scrappy Rockmart team as they defeated the Lady Jackets in four sets to send the team to the Class AA state finals for the first time in program history.
“It has not sunk in yet, not at all,” Coosa coach Nic Hann said. “We knew the girls had it in them, but we didn’t know what to expect tonight. To see them come out and fight for every point, even when it got tough, was just awesome.”
Coosa won the first game of the semifinal match 25-22 before Rockmart edged out the equalizer 26-28. But it was the Lady Eagles from there as they won the next two games 25-16, 25-22, in the bestof-five contest.
Leading Coosa was sophomore Taylor Roberts, who tallied an astronomical 24 kills. Tori Overby posted 12 kills and 13 digs, Cassie McFather had 11 digs and six aces, and Abigail Talley led the team with 22 assists.
The Lady Eagles (41-9) will play St. Vincent’s Academy on Saturday in the Class AA State Championship at Holy Innocents’ in Atlanta.
Wednesday’s match was the toughest test in Coosa’s playoff run so far, as Rockmart showed much improvement from the previous times it played the Lady Eagles. The Lady Jackets often won at the net, and seemed to have an answer whenever they were in trouble.
The most crucial part of the match came in the third game as Rockmart went on an 8-0 run to go up 15-13, only to see Coosa respond with an inspired 12-1 run to take the game.
Roberts recorded eight kills during that run, playing her best when the team needed it the most.
“I just knew my team had confidence in me in every hit that I had,” Roberts said. “That just gave me so much more push to finish those kills.”
The second game was a ride of emotions with Rockmart (22-14-3) jumping out to an 11-6 lead early and keep- ing the lead thanks to strong play at the net. But Coosa would fight off three game points to finally tie the game at 24.
Both teams would exchange game point opportunities before Rockmart finally won the game, 28-26. It was the first game Rockmart had won against Coosa all season.
“In games like this, you have to dig deep and leave everything on the court, and my girls did that,” Rockmart coach Stephanie Wolfe said. “They have nothing to be ashamed of because they fought for every point they got.”
But Coosa took out the Lady Jackets in the third game thanks to its big run, and jumped to a 10-5 lead to begin the fourth game. And like games before, Coosa fought off any Rockmart rally behind the raucous crowd.
“We’ve never had a volleyball match with this many people here,” Hann said. “That just goes to show our community, coming out and supporting our girls.”
The match finished with Overby, a senior, spiking the ball onto Rockmart’s side for a point and causing the crowd to erupt and spill onto the court.
It was one last display of extra effort to send Coosa to its first State Championship.
“We have just put in so much effort this season, and we’re just so pumped,” Overby said. “Now we have to figure out how to get all these fans there Saturday.”