The Baylor volleyball team graduated five key starters from last year’s state runner-up team and several others didn’t come back. There are a bunch of new names and faces on this year’s team, so you might say that Baylor is in a rebuilding mode.
It’s a whole new year, but the talent level is still high and the Lady Red Raiders proved it on Thursday evening with an impressive 3-1 victory at Notre Dame’s Jack Steiner Sr. Gymnasium.
Thursday’s match was Baylor’s first while the defeat was the first for the Lady Irish after winning a pair of matches on Tuesday at Hixson.
“This was a great first match experience for us as we knew that Notre Dame would be some really good competition,” said Baylor coach Sarah Lail following the two-hour match.
“I thought we came out strong in the first set, but had to make some adjustments after Holland Moss went down with an ankle injury. Luckily, we have a bunch of young ladies who are capable of stepping up and that’s exactly what they did.
“We’ve been practicing against each other for a while and we just wanted to play against somebody else. For where we are right now, this was a great starting point. We have a lot of new faces, but they’ve paid their dues and it’s their turn to shine. They will only get better as the season progresses.
“We came in here today with a lot of confidence and I’m just glad we can leave here with an important victory. We’re going to a big tournament in Birmingham with 68 teams, so we’ll see some great competition, but it’s nice to head that way on a positive note,” Lail added.
Notre Dame coach Dan Clotfelter certainly doesn’t like losing, but he was proud of the way his girls fought. Baylor won the match by scores of 25-14, 25-27, 25-18 and 25-20, but it was an intense battle all the way and much closer than those scores might indicate.
“We all know that Baylor is the measuring stick for volleyball teams in Chattanooga. We aren’t there yet, but we’re on the right track and we showed that we’re capable of playing at that level,” Clotfelter said after the gym had emptied.
“We’re better overall than we were last year, but it’s matches like this that show us what we have to do to take that next step. Baylor has a great serving team and they stayed in system most of the match. We had a couple of breakdowns along the way, but it’s just really hard to defend Baylor.
“We haven’t faced the kind of speed they bring, but I thought we responded in that second set and I’m really pleased with how we played overall,” he added.
The first set belonged to the Lady Red Raiders. An ace by Notre Dame’s Jazzmyne Watkins knotted the score at 3-3, but Nadia Sixto followed with a kill and Baylor never trailed again.
The second set was the best of the day as there were 13 ties – the last being at 25-25 – before junior McKenna Brown recorded her only block to give Notre Dame the victory.
The third and fourth sets were equally as competitive and exciting, but Baylor was simply able to flex its muscle and pulled away to win despite a valiant effort from the Lady Irish.
Junior Elaine Redman, who might be the best player in the city right now, had an outstanding match and finished with a triple-double to place the winning Lady Red Raiders.
She had 18 kills, 18 assists and 20 digs in addition to an ace and a block.
Sophomore Sierra Herndon provided her own share of excitement with eight kills and five blocks while Julia Hartman had 13 digs. Libby May had 15 assists and nine digs while Tess Margio had nine kills to go with four blocks. Elli Kinney also had a great match with a dozen digs and six kills.
Brown was the leader for the Lady Irish as she finished the way with 22 kills and a dozen digs in addition to one block and one ace. She single-handedly kept Notre Dame in the match. Described by coach Clotfelter as “built like Olive Oil but hits like Popeye,” this young lady had 32 kills on Tuesday against Hixson and Gordon Lee.
Mary Fillauer had 37 assists and eight digs while Gwen Jimenez had 26 digs. Regan Wolf contributed six kills while Watkins had eight kills, eight digs, a block and an ace.
While Baylor will be in Birmingham this weekend for the prestigious Juanita Boodie Invitational, Notre Dame will take part in the Hixson Invitational on Saturday at Hixson Middle.
BAYLOR STATS:
Madison Cope – 6 kills, 1 block, 6 digs
Emma Gray – 2 aces, 4 assists, 9 digs
Julia Hartman – 13 digs
Sierra Herndon – 8 kills, 5 blocks
Elli Kinney – 6 kills, 12 digs
Tess Margio – 9 kills, 4 blocks, 1 dig
Libby May – 15 assists, 9 digs
Laura Kate May – 1 ace, 3 assists, 5 digs
Holland Moss – 2 kills, 2 blocks
Elaine Redman – 1 ace, 18 kills, 1 block, 18 assists, 20 digs
Nadia Sixto – 1 kill, 4 blocks, 1 assist
Lilly Stewart – 1 ace, 2 assists, 1 dig.
NOTRE DAME STATS:
McKenna Brown – 22 kills, 12 digs, 1 block, 1 ace
Madeline Solis – 1 ace
Regan Wolf – 6 kills
Gwen Jimenez – 26 digs
Emmaline Crisp – 2 kills, 2.5 blocks, 1 ace
Lindsey Burns – 2.5 blocks, 1 dig
Mary Fillauer – 37 assists, 8 digs. .5 block
Caroline Williams – 1 ace
Jazzmyne Watkins – 8 kills, 8 digs, 1 block, 1 ace.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)