By Michael Lindsay
The Gordonsville Tigerettes (24-1) made history on the volleyball court Thursday evening as they swept Sale Creek 3-0 to secure their first state tournament berth in program history.
“We’ve got a very special team and they’ve worked so hard to get to this point,” said Gordonsville head coach Brian Leslie. “Tonight we played lights-out. To play the way we did and play our game is huge.”
The Tigerettes’ opponent Thursday was no stranger to sectional matches, as Sale Creek has made 10 state tournament appearances in the last 14 seasons and won the state championship in 2023.
“Sale Creek is such a good program and a great community,” said Leslie. “But I felt the matchup was good for us; we liked our chances with our hitters and our back row was special tonight.”
Gordonsville opened the contest with a 5-0 run in the first set and pushed their lead to double digits (18-8) on a Callie Dillard ace and Derionna Bell kill. The Tigerettes went on to win the first set 25-11 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Sale Creek didn’t go away quietly as the Lady Panthers took a 10-7 lead early in the second set and held a 13-12 advantage more than halfway through. Their 14th point of the second set would be their last, though, as Gordonsville ripped off a 13-1 run to close the second set with a 25-14 victory, setting up the sweep opportunity in the third.
Gordonsville controlled the third set before setter Brooke Briggs tipped the ball over for the state tournament-clinching point, giving Gordonsville the third-set victory, 25-17.
Gordonsville seniors Christina Ray, Kaitlyn Stephenson, Derionna Bell, Brooke Briggs, Ashlyn Naylor, Emma Crawford and Melinda Holder will finish their Tigerette volleyball careers in Murfreesboro at the Class 1A state tournament.
“This is a special group that has done so much in all of their sports here,” said Leslie. “They’ve played in big games already and were able to step up in key moments and answer the call.”
Gordonsville is scheduled to face Union City (24-6) on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 2:30 p.m. at Siegel High School in the first round of the Class 1A state tournament. A win would see them play again on Wednesday at noon against the winner of CSAS and Summertown while a loss would have them face the loser of that game on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
