Lady 'Blazers Stay in Second Place Hunt With Four-Set Win Over Volunteer
by JIMMY MOORE
TriCitiesSports.com
September 18, 2018
GRAY, Tenn. – Daniel Boone completed the sweep of Volunteer for the season at Bobby Snyder Gymnasium Tuesday night, turning back the Lady Falcons in four sets, 25-18, 25-14, 23-25, 25-23.
The Lady Blazers (17-9, 5-3) had defeated Volunteer in the Falcons’ Nest when they overcame an 11-4 deficit in the fifth set but the Lady Blazers ended the match in four sets this time around.
Boone’s coach Chelsea Spivey Baker said the victory this time was just another example of how tough the competition is in the Big 6 Conference that requires any team you face to come out with your ‘A’ game.
“We came out playing fast in the first game and the second game but we kind of fell apart a little bit and did not have a lot of energy going into the fourth game,” she said. “But we finally picked up our energy and finished it.”
The opening set was knotted nine times, the last coming at 17-17 when Dannah Persinger and Claire Nave would serve the Lady Trailblazers with an 8-1 run and a 2-0 advantage.
Boone would jump out to a 6-1 advantage in the third set but the visitors would storm back thanks in a huge part to Sydney Allen’s serving and Jersey Wines play at the net to give the Lady Falcons a 17-14 lead.
The set was knotted five times the last coming at 22-22. Emily Hatley followed with a lob before the Lady Falcons’ Gracie Smith served up an ace but Greyson Stevens kill got the Lady Blazers side out before Volunteer ended the set with a kill to notch their only win of the night.
Volunteer coach Josh Wenger said it was hard to overcome a slow start like they had this time against the Lady Blazers.
“When you start slow and you make some mental errors emotionally you are just kind of wore down,” said Wenger. “You have to find a way to dig deep and I was proud of how we did that.”
Down 2-1 the Lady Falcons did not go quietly as the fourth set was tied 11 times. With the Lady Blazers on top 22-19 in the set, two service errors by Boone and a block by Emma Bice saw the score still even at 22-22 but Abbi Hebert’s lob and block sealed the match.
“The game of volleyball is all about momentum,” added Baker. “Our conference is tough. We can find ourselves in a tie for second place.”
Boone’s Mackenzie Sweigart played huge at the net where she registered a double-double with 21 blocks and 10 kills. Jaycie Jenkins just missed a double-double with 17 digs and nine kills.
Setter McKenna Dietz ended the night with 33 assists, 25 digs and five kills while Greyson Stevens added 17 digs and seven kills.
Volunteer’s Sydney Dobbs also posted a double-double with 13 assists and 11 digs and also served a pair of aces. Jersey Wines notched 12 kills, nine digs and served a pair of aces.
The Lady Falcons’ Sydney Allen added 14 assists and served two aces. Emma Bice added seven kills and two block kills while Emily Hatley notched five kills and five block kills in the match.
“I’m really proud of how our girls fought back but I would like to have the first two sets back,” added Wenger. “You’ve got to come ready to play and start fast in all of our conference games because it is so competitive."