H.S. VOLLEYBALL: Middleton wins five-set thriller over TCA

Senior Christian Woods is the Middleton volleyball team's top attacker. There is no doubt that she will get her opportunities to kill the ball multiple times each set.

On Thursday when the Lady Tigers needed her the most, Woods came through with six kills in the fifth set to lead Middleton to a District 15-A win over Trinity Christian Academy in five sets — 22-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-21, 15-11 — at TCA.

"I realized that we were losing, and I had to step up my game in the fifth set," Woods said. "They were covering the floor, so we had to start placing the hits. I started tipping the ball, and they were not getting to it, so we we started using stuff like that."

Woods finished with 19 kills for the Lady Tigers (10-3, 2-0).

Middleton had to play from behind through most of the match as TCA held leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but the Lady Tigers forced a fifth set and came out strong.

Kayleigh Lanier had four service points that helped Middleton take a 9-3 lead early and Woods was on top of her game to make sure her team won.

"They played with confidence, and that shows how long these girls have been playing together and trusting each other," Middleton coach Zeke Craft said.

TCA (4-6, 1-1) kept Middleton's attack quiet at times behind the unheralded play of libero Anna Claire Winchester, who had 33 digs and no errors.

But the Lady Tigers have multiple hitters that are capable of strong hitting nights, and they needed all of them Thursday. Four Middleton hitters had at least six kills led by Woods, but Polly Dowty added eight, Jazmine Cosby had seven and Kira Collier had six.

"They kept it alive, and we knew that going in," Craft said. "Our goal was to keep hitting at them. To hit though, we had to have serve-receive and get the ball to the setter.

"All of the hitters were getting their swings, and that versatility makes us hard to defend. Megan [Leslie] did a good job moving her sets around."

Megan Leslie finished with 35 assists for Middleton.

TCA showed its youth at times, but there were two seniors that kept the Lady Lions playing with the lead. Seniors Katie Tillman (14 kills) and Katie Golden (10 kills) led the attack.

There were also big service rallies that helped TCA keep the lead early. Senior Madison Drake served the final four points of the first set for the 25-21 victory, and Tillman had seven service points early in the third set for the 9-1 lead.

But in the end, Middleton never lost composure, and the Lady Tigers kept working to keep the ball up and get their offense flowing to beat TCA for the second time this season.

"Beating them in the Freed-[Hardeman] tournament gave us confidence," Woods said. "Winning this one means everything. Even though we almost lost, this was the best game."

Michael Odom, 425-9754