MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The East Hamilton Lady Hurricanes had an outstanding volleyball season and an even better showing here in the Class AA state tournament this week, but the season didn't end like they would have liked.
East Hamilton was impressive in winning every match to reach the finals at Siegal High School on Friday, but Hume-Fogg was just a little bit better and earned their second state title with the 3-1 victory, winning by scores of 25-12, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-19.
The Lady Canes had advanced to the finals with wins over Lexington, Anderson County and Dyer County while the Blue Knights went the round-about way of reaching the finals through the consolation bracket.
They lost to Anderson County in their first match on Tuesday before defeating teams from Lexington, Signal Mountain, Anderson County and Dyer County.
Nashville has been Hume-Fogg’s home for more than a century, so it’s not surprising they had a large number of supporters in attendance, including a rowdy and excited group of students that only got louder and more rowdy as the match progressed.
The Blue Knights had won their only state volleyball title a number of years ago, but current coach Samantha Kopacz has reached the top level in only her second season as their leader. She was almost speechless when the final point had been scored.
“I need a drink of water,” she said to nobody in particular as soon as it ended.
“I really don’t know what to say, but I’m overwhelmed and excited by what we just did. Mental toughness and communication were the keys for us, especially after East Hamilton came back and won that second set. We just had to hold it together, but we’ve been gaining confidence since that first loss on Tuesday and we knew what we had to do to win this match.
“It was now or never for us, but these girls really worked hard all season to reach this point and I couldn’t be any more proud,” she added.
East Hamilton coach Antonela Suzuki has been saying all week that she wanted her team to play its best match with their best effort as the tournament progressed. She got what she was looking for, but the Blue Knights were just a little bit better on championship Friday.
“Hume-Fogg was just the better team today. They kept us out of system as their defense was amazing, but I felt like we did compete and I can’t ask for more than that,” she said after all the awards had been passed out.
“Even after a bad first set, we never quit. We’re all quite emotional right now, but I’m sad as a coach and they’re sad as players that it didn’t turn out better. Hume-Fogg just earned it today. It might be different on another day, but they were just better than us today.
“We’re all bummed out right now, but we’ll realize in a few days just how amazing our season was after the hurt of this one wears off,” she concluded.
The Blue Knights had a 12-7 lead in the opening set before Suzuki called her first timeout. Four straight service points by Amya Sutton just a bit later trimmed that lead to 13-12, but Sonya Jayathilake then went to the service line and recorded a dozen straight points to give her team the first set.
A kill from Sutton gave the Lady Canes their first point in the second set before McKenna Hayes recorded three of her six aces as the lead stretched to 7-0.
A kill from Nya Brown got the Blue Knights within two at 17-15, but not any closer as East Hamilton evened the match on a kill by Hayes.
The Lady Canes had regained some badly-needed momentum after that second set, but they couldn’t maintain it as Hume-Fogg had an answer for everything the Lady Canes tried.
A kill by Tristin Sutton gave East Hamilton its last lead at 12-11 in the third set before the Blue Knights slowly pulled away.
Five straight service points by Jayathilake extended Hume-Fogg’s lead to 24-17.
A kill by Amya Sutton and an ace by Hayes postponed the inevitable for a minute, but a service error by the Lady Canes put the Blue Knights in the driver’s seat with a 2-1 lead.
Hume-Fogg led from the start in the fourth set before a kill from Amya Sutton knotted the score at 9-9.
The Blue Knights then scored four of the next five points before Suzuki called a timeout and the difference was 17-11 when she called her second one.
Four straight service points by Sanaa Williams put the Blue Knights at match point with a 24-17 lead before a kill from Sagaia Reilly sealed the deal and set of a celebration by the girls in blue.
Williams earned MVP honors for Hume-Fogg after finishing the match with 17 kills, three assists and 13 digs. Browne was equally as effective with 16 kills.
Hayes gave her best effort and finished with 17 kills and 14 digs while Amya Sutton followed with a dozen kills. Madison Allen also played well in a losing effort with 10 kills and a dozen digs.
East Hamilton finishes its season at 31-6 while Hume-Fogg finished at 36-7.
EAST HAMILTON STATS:
McKenna Hayes -- 17 kills, 6 aces, 14 digs
Georgia Dobson -- 4 kills
Amya Sutton -- 12 kills, 1 ace, 5 digs
Tristin Sutton -- 4 kills, 40 assists, 2 aces, 10 digs
Morgan Bone -- 1 dig, 1 block
Madison Allen -- 10 kills, 1 assist, 2 aces, 12 digs
Laila Ankar -- 4 assists, 1 ace, 18 digs.
HUME-FOGG STATS:
Nya Brown -- 16 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace, 1 dig, 3 blocks
Sydney Rucker -- 6 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace, 7 digs
Gabriella Land -- 2 kills, 1 dig, 1 block
Kara Lemonis -- 1 kill, 16 assists, 1 ace, 15 digs
Sagaia Reilly -- 3 kills, 15 assists, 1 ace, 13 digs
Sanaa Williams -- 17 kills, 3 assists, 13 digs
Sonya Jayathilake -- 7 assists, 3 aces, 14 digs
Brooklyn Damond -- 1 kill.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)