Volleyball
Sunday, October 10, 2010
VOLLEYBALL Long Beach, Hancock win state championships
CLINTON — Hancock High and Long Beach High School scored breakthrough wins in the history of their volleyball programs.
Breann Hedin has 22 blocks and 14 kills as Long Beach won its first state title, a 16-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-17 win over Lake Cormorant in the Class II finals
Destiny Marks’ winning smash brought Hancock its first state championship in volleyball Saturday as the Lady Hawks knocked off Tupelo 28-26, 25-16, 12-25, 19-25, 15-9 for the Class III title.
Hancock (30-6) was able to avenge is loss to Tupelo in the 2009 finals, and ironically, Saturday’s match was a reversal of how 2009’s match develped.
“This team just has the heart,’’ Brittany Nutting said. “We weren’t ready to give up. We knew what it felt like to lose and we weren’t going to let it happen again.’’
Brittany Nutting had 24 assists and 11 kills. Her sister Victoria had 16 kills, 16 assists, 3 blocks and 9 service points.
Bailey Hoda had 21 kills, 16 points and 28 digs while Danielle Ladner added three blocks.
Hancock won the first two sets, dropped the next two, but asserted itself after Tupelo broke to a 3-1 lead in the fifth set.
we were more confident,’’ Brittany Nutting said.
“We didn’t have a doubt,’’ sister Victoria said.
“Within the past four years we’ve developed a great program,’’ Brittany said. “It’s a great way to finish our senior year.’’
It was Hancock’s first state title since the girls won the 2004 state basketball championship.
Coach David Irwin has been the architect of the volleyball program.
“We came out the game mirrored last year’s, except just the opposite,’’ Irwin said. “You could see the heart and determination of our girls. We broke a table going after a ball out of bounds. That’s two girls going for the ball.
“Five years ago, we I took over the program, we went over to the picture of the 2004 team. I told them our goal was to hang a (volleyball) picture on the wall.
Tori Clark added 11 blocks and six kills as Long Beach (30-6) broke through after being the runner-up for three straight years.
“We played with a lot of heart,’’ lone Long Beach senior Alli McCaleb said. “We had been here three times before. We left it on the court.’’
“We’re totally excited,’’ Clark said. “It’s hard to put in words. We got our jitters out and came back and played our game.’’
With the fourth set tied at 16, Long Beach dominated the rest of the way.
“I did not expect to be as good as we were, and when I realized it, I knew we had to make the run,’’ Long Beach coach Courtney Pollock said.
Ironically it was a reversal of last year, as defending Class I champion OLA was upset.
Lewisburg stopped Our Lady Academy’s bid for a fifth straight state title, defeating the Crescents 25-20, 25-23, 25-23 in the Class I finals
Callie McNally led OLA (29-11) with 13 kills and 8 service points.
Breann Hedin has 22 blocks and 14 kills as Long Beach won its first state title, a 16-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-17 win over Lake Cormorant in the Class II finals
Destiny Marks’ winning smash brought Hancock its first state championship in volleyball Saturday as the Lady Hawks knocked off Tupelo 28-26, 25-16, 12-25, 19-25, 15-9 for the Class III title.
Hancock (30-6) was able to avenge is loss to Tupelo in the 2009 finals, and ironically, Saturday’s match was a reversal of how 2009’s match develped.
“This team just has the heart,’’ Brittany Nutting said. “We weren’t ready to give up. We knew what it felt like to lose and we weren’t going to let it happen again.’’
Brittany Nutting had 24 assists and 11 kills. Her sister Victoria had 16 kills, 16 assists, 3 blocks and 9 service points.
Bailey Hoda had 21 kills, 16 points and 28 digs while Danielle Ladner added three blocks.
Hancock won the first two sets, dropped the next two, but asserted itself after Tupelo broke to a 3-1 lead in the fifth set.
we were more confident,’’ Brittany Nutting said.
“We didn’t have a doubt,’’ sister Victoria said.
“Within the past four years we’ve developed a great program,’’ Brittany said. “It’s a great way to finish our senior year.’’
It was Hancock’s first state title since the girls won the 2004 state basketball championship.
Coach David Irwin has been the architect of the volleyball program.
“We came out the game mirrored last year’s, except just the opposite,’’ Irwin said. “You could see the heart and determination of our girls. We broke a table going after a ball out of bounds. That’s two girls going for the ball.
“Five years ago, we I took over the program, we went over to the picture of the 2004 team. I told them our goal was to hang a (volleyball) picture on the wall.
Tori Clark added 11 blocks and six kills as Long Beach (30-6) broke through after being the runner-up for three straight years.
“We played with a lot of heart,’’ lone Long Beach senior Alli McCaleb said. “We had been here three times before. We left it on the court.’’
“We’re totally excited,’’ Clark said. “It’s hard to put in words. We got our jitters out and came back and played our game.’’
With the fourth set tied at 16, Long Beach dominated the rest of the way.
“I did not expect to be as good as we were, and when I realized it, I knew we had to make the run,’’ Long Beach coach Courtney Pollock said.
Ironically it was a reversal of last year, as defending Class I champion OLA was upset.
Lewisburg stopped Our Lady Academy’s bid for a fifth straight state title, defeating the Crescents 25-20, 25-23, 25-23 in the Class I finals
Callie McNally led OLA (29-11) with 13 kills and 8 service points.
