By Michael Lindsay
The Gordonsville Tigerettes are the queens of District 7A volleyball as they swept Tuesday’s semifinal and championship games to win their first district title in 6 seasons.
“Until that 25 hits in the third set, you’re constantly in the moment,” said Gordonsville head coach Brian Leslie. “It’s a big accomplishment for us. The three seniors (Kelcie Watts, Kelsey Haley and Kamala Young) are great kids and great leaders; that was fun.”
Gordonsville swept Clay County, 3-0, in the first semifinal matchup followed by York Institute defeating Clarkrange in four sets to pit the two against each other in the title game, where Gordonsville won 3-0.
“It’s a long drive, and when we came here in the regular season it took us two sets to really get going,” Leslie said. “We tried to get here and do things a little differently this time. Being the one seed, we got to play then sit and rest. We wanted to come out from the get-go and play well.”
Gordonsville setter Brooke Briggs was named District 7A tournament MVP while Ashlyn Naylor and Derrionna Bell were named all-tournament. York Institute’s Josie Linder and Cali Franklin were also named all-tournament.
“We’ve got to have our setter, Brooke Riggs, and she found the right hitters at the right time,” Leslie said. “Ashlyn and Derrionna killed it out of the middle.”
Semifinals: Gordonsville vs. Clay County & York Institute vs. Clarkrange
Gordonsville opened Tuesday’s action with a 3-0 sweep of Clay County as the Tigerettes won 25-17, 25-11 and 25-13. The win qualified them for the championship game later in the day and next week’s Region 4A tournament.
An all-Fentress County matchup followed in the second semifinal game as York Institute faced off against Clarkrange with their respective seasons on the line.
York jumped ahead to a 12-5 advantage in the first set before taking it by a 25-14 final to take a 1-0 lead.
Clarkrange responded in the second set as they jumped out to a 7-1 advantage over the Dragonettes. The Lady Buffaloes held a 19-13 lead before a quick York run closed the gap to 19-16. The teams traded blows until York came within one point of Clarkrange at 23-22. The Lady Buffaloes took advantage of back-t0-back York errors to close out the set and win 25-23 to tie the match at 1-1.
The teams battled through a back-and-forth third set and found themselves tied at 23. York and Clarkrange exchanged points until a kill from Cali Franklin and point by Josi Linder gave York the 27-25 victory to take a 2-1 set advantage.
Clarkrange got out to an early 11-7 lead in the fourth before York battled back to tie the set at 18. A quick 4-0 Dragonette run gave them a 22-18 advantage before they closed out to win the set 25-22, advancing to the District 7A championship match against Gordonsville approximately 30 minutes later.
Championship: Gordonsville vs. York Institute
Gordonsville came out hot in the District 7A championship match as they took a quick 11-6 lead over York Institute. The Dragonettes battled back to within 2 points at 20-18, but Gordonsville ultimately pulled through as a point from Ashlyn Naylor gave the Tigerettes a 25-23 set victory.
“We hit the ball well out of the middle tonight,” Leslie said. “We used that attack over and over; they had a tough time with it. We passed the ball good enough to be able to set that up. Callie Dillard and Melinda Holder’s serves made it tough on them, too.”
Gordonsville took control from there as the Tigerettes won the second set 25-13 before finishing the championship sweep in the third set by a 25-16 margin.
Tuesday’s title game victory is Gordonsville’s first volleyball district championship since 2017 as the Tigerettes will host next week’s Region 4A volleyball tournament.
Gordonsville will face the District 8A runner-up Smith County while York Institute will face District 8A champion East Robertson, date and times TBD.
