By Michael Lindsay
The Stone Memorial Lady Panthers improved to 7-0 in District 7-2A volleyball action Tuesday evening as they swept a home match against the Upperman Lady Bees, 3-0.
“We started out slow, but I’m proud of them for overcoming our mistakes and finishing when it mattered,” said Stone Memorial head coach Tori Permenter. “It’s been a long time since we beat Upperman at home. They’re a tough program, but it shows how mentally tough we are and how we’ve come a long way this season.”
Stone Memorial took the first set 25-19 followed by a 25-23 victory in the second before closing out a 25-19 win in the third.
Lucy Grothe led Stone Memorial with 15 kills along with 15 digs by Adyson Bennett and 10 from Breanna Looper.
“Lucy played really good in the first set,” said Permenter. “Her blocking was really important. Our defense always steps up; Adyson played a really good game and Breanna had some really smart moments on the outside.”
Upperman controlled the early portions of the match as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening set.
“Upperman came in with a lot of energy and I have to give them props,” said Permenter. “We have to be reminded that nothing is given to us. Our district is really tough and you have to bring it every single night or you’ll get beat.”
Stone Memorial responded with a 12-1 run to take a 12-7 lead over the Lady Bees en route to a 25-19 victory. Grothe recorded a block followed by back-to-back kills to close out the first set.
A neck-and-neck second set saw the teams tied at 12-12 before the Lady Bees pushed ahead 20-16. Stone Memorial battled back to tie the contest at 22 via a Lauren Clark kill before back-to-back points from Kendall Tollett and Adrianna Mann closed the 25-23 victory for the Lady Panthers.
Upperman led the third set 12-11 before Stone Memorial rallied to take a 17-12 lead midway through the frame. The Lady Panthers held off the Lady Bees for the rest of the third set to close out a 25-19 victory.
“Our senior leadership was big,” said Permenter. “Upperman never went away, but neither did we. Our mistakes didn’t make us crumble.”
Stone Memorial improves to 11-5 overall and 7-0 in District 7-2A play with all seven district victories coming via sweep.
The Lady Panthers are scheduled to travel out of state this weekend to a tournament in Florida before returning to play at Cumberland County on Thursday, Sept. 19. Upperman is scheduled to host Cumberland County this Thursday and White County on Friday at 1 p.m.
