Baylor playing today for state volleyball title

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - For the last five years Baylor has finished at least third in the TSSAA Division II-AA state volleyball tournament. And entering Thursday's play at Siegel Middle School, the Lady Red Raiders already had secured that standing again.

But the thing that has eluded them in that span has been a state title, which they will play for today at Siegel High School thanks to a 3-1 victory over Briarcrest Christian. Set scores were 26-24, 25-15, 24-26, 25-15.

Baylor (42-9) will face fellow East/Middle Region opponent Father Ryan for the championship at 1 p.m. EDT.

Father Ryan, which is 2-1 against the Lady Red Raiders this season, including beating them Wednesday in this tournament, defeated Briarcrest earlier Thursday in the winners-bracket final, 3-2. And the Lady Irish came back from down 2-0 to do it.

Baylor coach Sarah Lail said she thought previous state-tournament experiences helped her players stay relaxed going up against a powerful team like the Saints.

"Obviously I'm very pleased with the way we played today," Lail said. "They really wanted it. I thought our intensity was great."

Senior Lexy Hellerstedt said when it was the Lady Raiders' turn to perform, they were ready to go.

"We just had to give it our all," Hellerstedt said. "We had nothing to lose. We got here early and watched the Father Ryan-Briarcrest match, and that got us pumped up."

Hellerstedt is one of two seniors on Baylor's squad. The other is Cassie Elrod, who incurred a knee problem in the fourth set and had to come out for the rest of the match.

Hellerstedt said she and Elrod have been best friends since sixth grade, so she was well aware of the cyst problem Elrod has had in her knee. But with her out, Lail needed someone to pick up some back-row time, which is something Hellerstedt isn't accustomed to having at Baylor.

Elrod had five digs before she went out. Hellerstedt added another four, to go with her eight kills and two aces.

"I had played back row in club ball," Hellerstedt said. "It had just been a little while, but I got back in the groove."

Libero Lilly Turner led the team with 28 digs, and Jane Wilson and Ashleigh Cook each registered three blocks. Lail said the defensive combination of front row and back worked together in the win and enabled the Lady Raiders to turn things over to their attack.

"Our hitters really took control of the game," said Lail, whose team was led by 20 kills from sophomore Gabby Gray, who had "Happy Birthday" sung to her after the match. "I thought we had a well-balanced offense."

Haven Bethune had a well-balanced performance with a team-high 21 assists to go with nine kills and 13 digs. Gray contributed 12 digs and was the leader in aces with three.

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.

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