Little room for error… Lady Rebels bring too much firepower in District 1-AA final over ‘Betsy
Published 1:24 am Saturday, October 12, 2019
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Star Photo/Dawn Lambert The Lady Cyclones placed three players on the All-Tournament team including Morgan Smith, Deanna Hull, and Hannah Boster.
Star Photo/Dawn Lambert Elizabethton's Kaitlin Bailey goes up for a spike attempt against a Lady Rebel defender.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
KINGSPORT – The Lady Cyclones of Elizabethton knew the obstacle that stood before them in the District 1-AA volleyball tournament final at Sullivan Central High School on Thursday evening taking on one of the area’s premier soccer programs for the last few years in the Sullivan South Lady Rebels.
With the title hanging in the balance, the Lady Rebels were just too much for the Lady Cyclones as South took the match in straight sets, 25-20, 25-21, and 25-14 to add another district championship to their trophy case.
Meanwhile, the news wasn’t all bad as the Lady Cyclones move on to a regional semifinal game against Seymour on Tuesday evening at Sullivan South High School at 6 pm. With a win, Elizabethton will qualify for a sectional berth and the opportunity to play in the regional final at 8 pm on Tuesday as well.
“South played lights out and were on top of their game,” Elizabethton head coach Leslee Bradley said about the district final outcome. “We knew we didn’t have any room for errors but we did have some lapses.
“We get Seymour in the regional semifinals and hopefully will play for the regional championship the same night. We haven’t seen Seymour so we will be going into the match blind and will have to make adjustments as we go.”
Bradley emphasized the importance of taking the games one at a time and focusing solely on Seymour at this time.
“Right now it’s about taking one step at a time,” Bradley added. We need to qualify for the regional final so we have to play hard to fight off elimination.”
One thing that Bradley mentioned that really plays into the equation is the support from the Elizabethton community.
“We had a great fan base at Sullivan Central. We need that same support Tuesday and hopefully, we can qualify for the sectional and win the regional to play at home. It’s always better to play in the friendly confines of your own gym.”
Morgan Smith led the Lady Cyclones with 10 kills and 7 defensive digs while Kaitlin Bailey added seven kills. Deanna Hull and Whitley Maupin led defensively with 23 and 16 digs respectively.
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2019 District 1-AA All-Tourney Team
MVP – Abbey Jayne – Sullivan South
Molly Williams – Sullivan South
McKenzie Compton – Sullivan South
Izzy Musick – Sullivan South
Morgan Smith – Elizabethton
Deanna Hull – Elizabethton
Hannah Boster – Elizabethton
Elaina Vaughn – Sullivan Central
Laiken Hoback – Sullivan Central
Ashton Adkins – Sullivan East
Regional Tourney Schedule
Sullivan South High School
Tuesday, October 15th
Game One: Sullivan South vs Greeneville @ 5 pm
Game Two: Elizabethton vs Seymour @ 6 pm
Regional Championship: Winner 1 vs Winner 2
(both qualify for sectional with winner hosting on Thursday, October 17th)
