Smith County Volleyball Clinches First Substate Berth In Program History Via Region Semis Win Over Gordonsville

By Michael Lindsay

A historic season for the Smith County Lady Owl volleyball team will continue on into the Class A sectional round as the Lady Owls defeated Gordonsville in Tuesday’s Region 4-1A tournament semifinals at East Robertson High School. 3-1.

“I can’t be more proud of these girls and all the work they’ve put in since June,” said Smith County head coach Krissa Hackett. “We changed some things around and knew we had to stop their outsides and Ashlyn Naylor in the middle.”

Immediately after their semifinal win, Smith County fell in the Region 4-1A championship to East Robertson to finish runner-up in the tournament. The Lady Owls will travel to Sale Creek on Thursday in the substate round with the opportunity to clinch a state tournament berth with a victory.

“In August, there’s over 100 teams in Class A,” said Hackett. “After tonight, there’s 16 and we’re one of them. This is the first time in our school’s history we’ve got this far.”

Smith County’s region semifinal victory came in four sets over Gordonsville, who defeated the Lady Owls twice in the regular season.

Smith County won the first by a 25-16 margin via a Shelby Bamford kill from the back row.

“That was huge,” said Hackett. “The girls were nervous about the adjustments, so for them to see that was big. I’m so proud of them.”

Gordonsville battled back and evened the series in the second set as the Tigerettes won it 25-16.

The Tigerettes took control of the third set as they held a 15-9 lead over Smith County midway through the frame. Smith County battled back to tie the contest at 18 points each before pushing out to a 21-18 lead via a Claire Bennett tip.

The Lady Owls held off Gordonsville to win the third set 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Smith County opened the fourth set with a 7-2 lead and pushed ahead by double-digits at 16-6. The Lady Owls clinched the 25-18 fourth-set victory via a Bamford kill to secure their berth in the substate.

Tuesday was Smith County’s second-ever appearance in the region semifinals and first region championship game berth. Thursday will be Smith County’s first Class A sectional game with a state tournament berth on the line.

“I coached some of these girls in middle school,” said Hackett. “To see them go from that stage, I’ve just got to sit here and joy watching them do the work.”

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