West beats East in TACA all-star game
SMYRNA – It wasn't really about bragging rights Saturday afternoon.
No, it was more about getting on the volleyball court one last time before heading off to college.
A pair of Siegel graduates were part of the West team's 4-1 win (25-23, 25-13, 25-19, 23-25, 25-15) in the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association's all-star volleyball game at Stewarts Creek High School.
"It was great," said Siegel's Alexa Faulkner, who played with former Siegel teammate and close friend Tori Simmons on the West team. "With her going off to play (in college), it was great to play with her one last time. I hope I can go watch her play some in college.
"It was great to play one last time. That's my last time to play with my best friend on the court."
Simmons, a two-time DNJ volleyball player of the year, has signed with Belmont. Faulkner and Simmons helped lead Siegel to third-place finishes in the TSSAA Class AAA state tournament the past two seasons.
The game was a best-of-seven format. Usually high school contests are best of five games.
Blackman graduates Angela Boudavong, Danielle Ged and Jess Oliver all played on the East team. All three former Lady Blaze standouts will play in college in the fall. Boudavong is playing at King University in Bristol. Ged is playing at Lincoln Memorial, and Oliver will be at Tennessee Tech.
The trio helped lead Blackman back to its first state tournament in 11 years in 2014.
"This was definitely something to remember, Ged said. "Everything was just fun. Playing with all of (my teammates) and also all of these new girls is just something that I will cherish."
Ged, a middle hitter, looked in midseason form on the court in part because she and Boudavong have been playing a large amount of sand volleyball.
"I'm more diverse now," Ged said. "I have more shots."
Teams had one practice on Friday to prep for the game.
Simmons, who will play outside hitter at Belmont, was moved to the middle for the West because the team had just one other middle hitter. Simmons hadn't played in the middle since her freshman year at Siegel.
"It's been a while," Simmons said. "It was a lot different actually. It's really the blocking that's a lot different.
"But you've got to do what you've got to do I guess."
Simmons said the team quickly realized during its practice that it was short on middle hitters.
Oliver, a setter for Blackman, played perhaps her final game as a setter. She said she'll like be a libero at Tennessee Tech.
Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.
