Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Upperman Bees clinched District 8AA’s top seed for the district tournament with their 3-2 win at Livingston Academy on Thursday.
The match got off to a thrilling start, as both teams fought tooth-and-nail to take any kind of an advantage over the other. Going to extra points, Upperman eventually claimed the first set with a 27-25 victory to open the match.
The second set was similarly close to the first, and it was once again the Lady Bees who were victorious, as they took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-23 win in the second frame.
With their backs against the wall, LA put their best all-around set of the night together in the third. The Lady Wildcats went on to win it 25-13, and pulled even in the fourth set with a 25-20 victory to force the fifth set.
There, Upperman took an early advantage and held on to win on district MVP Lila Cade’s kill to clinch the 3-2 victory.
That’s a FINAL.
Lila Cade gets this kill and ends the comeback. Upperman wins 15-12 in the fifth to take the 3-2 victory. pic.twitter.com/zhmkX5xIvx
— Rusty Ellis (@RustyEllis_) September 29, 2022
With the win, Upperman will be the number one seed in Tuesday’s district tournament. This will see them pair up against fourth-seeded Cumberland County at 4:30 P.M. in Crossville for a spot in the district championship.
Despite it being as close as it was late in the match, head coach Barbie Cook believes there was plenty for her and her staff to be pleased with as far as how her girls played.
“It’s a little bit of mixed feelings, because like I’ve said all season, it depends on what kind of team they want to be,” Cook said. “They know they have great potential, but it’s about when they want to turn it on. Tonight, it just happened to take five games.”
After seeing their 2-0 lead disappear, Cook says she simply told her girls that this is where they would have to earn the win.
“They’re great girls and they’re a great team,” Cook said. “I told them they knew how to play this game. They know what to do. We watched film all week, so those were things I told them. They just had to rise above that mental status and play their game.”
Game one of the district tournament will be on Oct. 4 between Upperman and Cumberland County in Crossville at 4:30 P.M.
