VOLLEYBALL
powerhouse Pace Academy in the Class AA/A Public state finals.
“I told them (after the match) that there was nothing to be ashamed of and to walk out of here with their heads held high,” Coach Tricia Goodwin said. “I don’t know if there is any other (Class A) public school (program) in the state that can compete at this level like we can. What we have accomplished, what (this group of seniors) have accomplished, is truly a milestone.”
The two teams had met in last year’s final with Gordon Lee rallying from two sets down in the the best-of-five match to tie things up before losing in the fifth-set tiebreaker.
The Lady Trojans, ranked third in the state, earned the rematch against the second-ranked Lady Knights after sweeping Pace’s biggest rival, top-ranked Lovett, in the semifinals at LakePoint exactly one week earlier.
A large contingent of fans from Chickamauga made the 90-minute trip and it was evident from the outset that, from a talent standpoint, the two teams were evenly matched, something that played out over the course of the afternoon.
Neither team held more than a four-point advantage for most of the opening set. The score was tied on three different occasions, the last time at 16-16 after a kill and an ace by Brooklyn Hudson.
Pace (27-17) responded by reeling off five consecutive points, but an ace by libero Alex Finch and a kill by Arilyn Lee suddenly chopped the Lady Knights’ lead down to just two. Gordon Lee (40-5) would get no closer though as Pace took the opening set, 25-20.
The Lady Trojans came out firing in the second set and bolted out to an 8-3 lead. Slowly but surely, however, Pace chipped away at the lead and a 10-5 run would tie things up at 13 apiece.
Now with the momentum on their side, the Lady Knights hit the accelerator and closed out the set with a 12-3 run to put them one set away from a second straight state title in the classification and a fifth consecutive state title overall.
It looked as if Pace would finish things off in a sweep as they stormed out to a 10-2 lead in the third set, but Gordon Lee refused to go away that easily.
Three kills by Hudson helped get the deficit down to 12-7 and Lee would take over for the next several points. She had four kills and two blocks to chop Pace’s lead down to 16-14, while two huge blocks by Emoree Rogers gave Gordon Lee its first lead of the set at 17-16.
The Lady Knights came back with three consecutive points, but Hudson responded with a block to jump-start what would become a final 8-3 run. Hudson had five more kills down the stretch and Sam Cramer had a kill at 21-20 to give the Lady Trojans the lead for good before they finished off the set, 25-22.
The fourth set began with Pace scoring the first four points, but once again Gordon Lee responded as a kill and an ace by Rogers eventually tied things up at 6-6.
The Lady Knights clicked off six consecutive points, only to see Gordon Lee match the 6-0 run. Lee had two kills and a block in the run as the match was deadlocked at 12-12.
Pace got the next three points, but kills by Lee and Rogers kept Gordon Lee within striking distance, while a kill by Hudson pulled the Lady Trojans to within a point at 20-19.
However, that would be as close as they would get as the Lady Knights scored four straight to arrive at match point. Cramer and Lee delivered back-to-back kills, prolonging the match, but Pace got one final ball to hit the floor to seal the championship with a 25-21 victory.
Rogers had a big afternoon with 22 assists, nine kills, six digs and five blocks, while Cramer recorded 17 digs, five kills and four digs. Hudson collected 18 kills and 13 digs. Lee had 13 kills and 10 digs, and M.K. Roberts had five assists to go with a team-high 30 athletic digs.
“These girls love volleyball,” head coach Kelli Payne said of her sixplayer senior class. “That’s what they do. I think they’ve left a mark on this program and I know the younger girls look up to them because of their skill, their maturity and their love of the game. That’s some things they’ll leave on this program for years to come.
“They are leaving big shoes to fill, but hopefully (the younger players) will step up and lead this program to many more victories.”