A trip denied… Lady Mavericks gallop to a state berth in defeat of Elizabethton, 3-0
Published 1:49 am Saturday, October 19, 2019
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The Lady Cyclones and Lady Mavericks exchange pre-game hand shakes before the match tipped off.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Lady Cyclone Deanna Hull digs out a ball while teammate Brittany Kitchens (20) looks on.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Lady Cyclone head coach Leslee Bradley talks with her team during a called time out.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Elizabethton's Mattie Davis (4) and Brittany Kitchens (20) work hard to block a ball and keep it on the Anderson County side of the net.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
A Lady Maverick sends a return high over the hands of the Elizabethton duo of Hannah Boster (25) and Mattie Davis (4) who attempt to block the return.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Elizabethton's Mattie Davis (4) and Brittany Kitchens (20) attempt to block a Lady Maverick return during Thursday night's sectional contest at Anderson County High School.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
CLINTON – Coming into the 2019 season, the Elizabethton Lady Cyclone volleyball team had set goals to accomplish during the season and with a huge hurdle standing before them in the Anderson County Lady Mavericks and a trip to state, the Lady Cyclones found the road come to an end at Anderson County High School in Clinton.
Elizabethton came out of the gate with a sluggish performance, perhaps affected by some nerves and butterflies realizing the opportunity that they had before them and the team they were facing.
With balls finding openings and some confusion at times on the Lady Cyclones part, the Lady Mavericks came out with their heavy hitters pounding the ball with some timely placed dinks that had the Lady Cyclones looking at each other in failing to get to the ball.
As a result, Anderson Co. quickly closed out the first set by a 25-15 score.
Elizabethton seemed to settle some to start the second set actually jumping out 5-0 before the Lady Mavericks once again went back to their effect game plan and while the Lady Cyclones managed to play somewhat tougher, Anderson County played just a level higher in securing the second set by a 25-20 score.
With the pressure mounting and knowing they were going to have a big uphill battle to stay alive, the Lady Cyclones just couldn’t pull it together in succumbing to the home-standing Lady Mavericks in set three by a score of 25-14 that secured one more game for Anderson County and ended a successful campaign for Coach Leslee Bradley’s team who won over 20 games on the season.
Seniors Morgan Smith (7 kills, 4 digs), Hannah Boster (6 kills, 1 dig), Kaitlin Bailey (5 kills, 2 digs), and Deanna Hull (10 digs) closed out their successful prep volleyball careers with the loss.
“They have been a fun team to coach,” said Bradley of her 2019 squad. “They definitely wrapped their mind around what it means to be a team and fighting for each other and doing everything you can for each other.
“The skill level was there and watching them grow in their skill level throughout the season was just a really neat group of girls.’
Bradley said that Anderson County really brought the A-game to the court with the way they hit the ball and responded to every ball that was on their side of the net.
“They had a lot of firepower and had a lot of huge swings on their side of the net,” Bradley stated. “They played smart volleyball. I am anxious to see how the tournament unfolds next week and watch South and Anderson County because those are the only two teams we lost to this postseason.
“I believe that they are going to be very successful down there.”
The Lady Mavericks board stated they had been to state in 2017 and 2018 but they lost in substate play to South both years. This marks the first return to state competition since 2008 for Anderson County.
This was Elizabethton’s third sectional appearance in four years missing out in 2018.
