Sophomore Kenna Wilcox had some key kills to keep the Lady Spartans from gaining momentum.
Photos by Drew Terhall | The Daily Advocate
Senior Lauren Porter collected kills on the outside.
By Drew Terhall
Dailyadvocate.com
PLEASANT HILL — The fourth seeded Lady Patriots of Tri-Village moves on in the OHSAA Division VI Southwest tournament as they knocked off 11th seed Calvary Christian on Oct. 19 at Newton High School.
Tri-Village took care of business and swept the Lady Spartans. Head coach Taylor Rawlings said she preached to her team that they have to go into each game locked in and ready to go.
“We preach that everybody is 0-0 when the tournament starts. We had to come out ready to play because you never know what the other team is going to bring at you,” Rawlings said.
The Lady Patriots cruised through the first set with a 25-12 win. Sophomore Gabby Kirby and senior Lauren Porter were able to hit their spots and get the team going early.
Then it was a bit of a struggle in the second set. The Lady Patriots had to climb out of a small deficit to start the set and then had to hold off the Lady Spartans late. Rawlings said they have been inconsistent at times this season, but the team was able to regroup and get the set win.
“We had our moments where it looked like our roller coaster again. But, we were able to gather it back together and finish strong,” Rawlings said.
The defensive back row came up big in the second set. Sophomore Mylee Bierly and sophomore Camryn Osborne both were in place at the right time as they didn’t let a ball touch the ground later in the set. Tri-Village won 25-17.
Then after a slow start to the third set, the Lady Patriots got back into a rhythm to close out the game. Sophomore Kenna Wilcox was all over the floor getting to the ball and finishing off some attacks with kills.
After Calvary Christian took a 9-10 lead, the Lady Patriots took over to win 25-15.
Rawlings said she couldn’t scout Calvary Christian that much since she couldn’t find out much about them. Her team sort of went in blind, but played their game to come away with the win.
“I’m proud of them for finding that go to finish strong. Once you’re done, you’re done. It’s tournament time. I’m glad we were able to find that grit, that effort to finish strong,” Rawlings said.
Tri-Village will take on ninth seed Houston on Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m. at Newton. The Lady Patriots swept Houston back on Aug. 31.
Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected].
