Cookeville Volleyball’s Season Comes To An End With Loss Against Siegel

The Cookeville Lady Cavaliers’ volleyball season came to an end in a 3-2 (25-15, 25-22, 27-29, 18-25, 15-13) loss against Siegel in the TSSAA AAA state volleyball tournament Thursday in Murfreesboro.

The Lady Cavs battled back from a 2-0 deficit, but ultimately fell in a tightly-contested fifth set.

“The ultimate goal was to win state, but we still came to state three years in a row,” said CHS head coach Jami Cherry. “That was a huge thing for our school. I’m just so proud of the way they continued to fight.”

The Lady Stars, who were playing in their own gym, raced out to take an early 1-0 lead with a 25-15 win in set two.

Siegel held a 17-12 lead in the second set, but the Lady Cavs found a rhythm and scored eight out of the next 10 points to take a 19-20 lead in the set. The Lady Stars called a timeout, and returned to the court with a 6-2 run to take the second set 25-22.

“Momentum shifts so quick in volleyball,” said Cherry. “I’m a firm believer in everything happens for a reason, and I do feel like coming close in the second set… pushed us into the third set. I think that’s what helped us.”

Siegel appeared poised to make quick work of CHS, racing out to a 5-2 lead in the third set, but the resilient Lady Cavs battled back. The teams went back-and-forth through a thrilling third set, with the Lady Stars forcing a match point with a 27-26 lead, but Cookeville rattled off three straight points to take the set 27-29.

CHS maintained momentum in the fourth set, earning a 1-10 lead and rolling to a 18-25 win to tie the match at two.

The teams traded points throughout the fifth set, with the Lady Stars scoring the final two points to win the set 15-13, and the match 3-2.

“This team is something special,” said Cherry.

The match was the final match for several CHS seniors who have left their mark on the program.

“I have seven seniors and I have a senior manager,” said Cherry. “Four of my seniors were on all three of those teams. Even seniors that weren’t in the game today were jumping up and down, screaming… I couldn’t be more proud of the leadership that was shown on the court and off the court by my seniors.”

The Lady Cavs season ends tied for fifth in the state tournament. The finish ties the best finish in school history

 

Photos by Noah McKay:

IMG_8502IMG_8504IMG_8505IMG_8507IMG_8511IMG_8513IMG_8515IMG_8516IMG_8523IMG_8524IMG_8525IMG_8526IMG_8527IMG_8528IMG_8529IMG_8530IMG_8531IMG_8532IMG_8533IMG_8535IMG_8536IMG_8546IMG_8552IMG_8556IMG_8557IMG_8563IMG_8564IMG_8568IMG_8569