Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Cookeville Lady Cavs saw their season come to an end in a 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 18-25, 16-25) loss at the hands of Siegel in the Region 3AAA Tournament on Tuesday.
After battling back a tough Siegel rally to win the second set, the Lady Cavs came out flat in the third and fell behind 10-1 early. Trailing 19-8, Cookeville put on a fierce rally of their own to cut that deficit down to 19-14, but it was too much of a hill for them to climb, as they fell behind 2-1 in the match.
For head coach Lucas Martin, it played out in an all-too-familiar way for his team.
“Same problem all year,” Martin said. “It’s simple; we pass well, we win. We don’t pass well, we lose.”
While the loss is tough to stomach, Martin is also quick to point out that his team battled the entire way. That was yet another staple of the 2021 Lady Cavs, even if their season ended earlier than they were used to.
“Same thing all season, they never quit,” Martin said. “They’re always fighting, we just made too many mistakes.”
It’s too early for Martin to take a full look at his first season at the helm, but he did have one takeaway that stuck out to him.
“I’m proud of how much the girls learned and what they worked for,” Martin said. “(I’m proud) of how they competed in every match.”
