By Michael Lindsay
The Upperman Lady Bees made history Thursday evening as they swept Soddy Daisy in the Class 2A sectional round to secure their spot in next week’s TSSAA class 2A state volleyball tournament.
“There’s a lot going through my head right now,” said Upperman head coach Barbie Cook. “First and foremost, it’s all about unity. This team rises above; if we’re not uncomfortable, then we’re not doing something right. For us to come out and do this, it shows all that hard work paid off.”
Upperman defeated Soddy Daisy in straight sets by scores of 25-7, 25-17 and 25-12 to qualify for their second state tournament appearance, the other coming in 2018.
“They (Soddy Daisy) are a great team,” Cook said. “They’re scrappy and their libero (Finley Hilliard) is an incredible player. They have great hitters and they’re smart. We hadn’t seen them since last year, so for us to come out and play the game we did was amazing.”
The Lady Bees took control of the contest from the get-go as they opened the first set with a 15-3 lead behind 6 aces from senior Lila Cade.
Upperman didn’t let up in the first set as they won it 25-7.
“They knew they had to do that,” said Cook. “We knew we had one game tonight; we didn’t play back to back or anything. We had to stay strong all the way through.”
Soddy Daisy battled with Upperman in the second set as the Lady Trojans held a 13-11 lead over the Lady Bees midway through the set.
Upperman battled back to take a 15-14 lead before Cade again stepped up to serve. The Lady Bees rattled off a 7-0 run behind Cade’s serves to take a 21-14 lead in the set before winning it 25-17 to take a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Bees were dominant again in the third set as they took an 8-2 advantage early. Upperman cruised to a 24-12 lead before a Bailey West block at the net put the exclamation point on their victory and secured the Lady Bees’ berth in the state tournament.
“You can talk the talk, but you have to walk the walk,” said Cook. “You’ve got to back it up, and once they figured out what they needed to do, they’ve been unstoppable.”
Upperman’s run back to the state tournament has been anchored by their three seniors: Kaitlyn Foster, Kailyn Stevens and Lila Cade.
“They haven’t been there, so for them to get this and it’s been this long, they’re excited,” Cook said. “They’re humble and like to see others succeed.”
Upperman will compete Tuesday in the Class 2A state tournament at Blackman High School, time and opponent TBD.
“We’ll still do what we always do,” Cook said. “We know we’ll have a serious team we’ll be up against. Preparation starts tomorrow, and they know what to expect.”
