by Rusty Ellis
The Gordonsville Tigerettes and York Institute Dragonettes took part in the Region 4-A Tournament on Tuesday, as the Tigerettes clinched a substate match with their win over Westmoreland in the semifinals.
Gordonsville Vs. Westmoreland
The Tigerettes jumped out to a 6-1 lead over the Lady Eagles in the opening set, and the lead was pushed to 10-4 before Westmoreland starting cutting into it. Kelsey Haley’s ace pushed the lead back up to 13-9, and a kill by Kamara Young gave GHS a five-point lead. From there, Gordonsville dominated the remainder of the set and took a 1-0 lead with a 25-16 victory.
The second set proved to be more challenging, but another run in the middle of the frame saw Gordonsville take a 20-15 lead on an Ashlyn Naylor kill. From there, the Tigerettes moved within a set of the substate round with a 25-18 win.
After Westmoreland fought back and won the third set 25-19, the fourth set saw both teams struggle to build any kind of momentum. Westmoreland took a 17-15 lead and seemingly had all the momentum, but a 4-0 run out of a timeout gave Gordonsville a 19-17 advantage. After the Lady Eagles took a 20-19 lead, Gordonsville closed out the set with six of the final seven points to win 25-21 and clinch their spot in the region championship.
York Institute Vs. East Robertson
York Institute ran into a buzz-saw in East Robertson and fell 3-0 to see their season come to an end.
Early in the first set, a Josie Linder block gave York a 3-2 lead, and the Dragonettes added on to take a 9-6 lead. From there however, East Robertson answered with five straight points and took a 11-9 lead. From there, York struggled to get any kind of run going, and ERHS took the first set 25-12.
The final two sets were more of the same, as East Robertson jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the second set before winning 25-12 once again.
ERHS closed out the victory with a 25-15 win in the third set.
Gordonsville Vs. East Robertson
The championship match proved to be as electric as advertised, as East Robertson came away with a 3-2 win to win the Region 4-A Championship.
It was Gordonsville who got off to a good start however, as a Kali Underwood kill gave the Tigerettes a 13-9 lead. Kelcie Watts’ kill made the score 16-13 a few rallies later, and though East Robertson battled back and took a 23-21 lead at one point, GHS closed the set with a 5-1 run to win 26-24.
The second and third sets were all East Robertson, as they took a 2-1 lead with a 25-14 win in the second set and a 25-21 win in the third. In the fourth, ERHS held a 20-17 lead late and appeared poised to close out the win, but GHS tied it at 20-all with a Naylor kill and used that momentum to force a fifth set with a 25-23 win.
There, Gordonsville jumped out to a 6-2 lead and looked to have all the momentum in the match, but East Robertson roared back and won the set 15-12 to clinch the region title.
Gordonsville will head to Sale Creek on Thursday for a shot to go to the State Tournament.
