STATE CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND: Gordonsville Volleyball Defeats Summertown 3-1 To Clinch Title Game Berth Vs. Eagleville

By Michael Lindsay

A historic high school volleyball season will conclude on the state’s biggest state Friday afternoon for the Gordonsville Tigerettes (26-1) as they clinched a TSSAA Class 1A state championship berth Wednesday with a 3-1 victory over Summertown in the semifinals.

“It’s so awesome,” said Gordonsville head coach Brian Leslie. “The girls played so well and we had such an awesome crowd, and that just gives the girls the energy to lay out and make play after play. We just had to get it (the ball) to the front and get it to our big sticks on the outside and we took care of business.”

Summertown took control of the game early as they jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set. The Tigerettes settled in from there as they ripped off a 9-2 run to tie the opening set at 12-12.

The Tigerette run wasn’t done at 9-2 as Gordonsville reeled off 6 more points as part of a 15-2 run to lead the first set 18-12 on an Ashlyn Naylor kill. The Tigerettes went on to win the first set 25-19 on an Emma Crawford kill.

“The first set, we started out so slow,” said Leslie. “We were figuring out their tempo and what they do. The girls do so much adjusting on the court themselves; they have so much experience and keep each other calm. We made just enough plays to keep it alive and it’s awesome.”

Gordonsville held a 17-12 lead in the second set, but Summertown answered as they reeled off a 13-5 run to win the second set, 25-22, and tie the match at one set each.

The third set went saw Gordonsville jump out to a 14-7 lead via a Naylor kill, but Summertown rallied again to tie the contest at 20-20. Gordonsville locked in from there as kills from 8th grader Lanie Foster and senior Derionna Bell closed out the third-set victory 25-23 to give Gordonsville a 2-1 set advantage.

Gordonsville held a 7-4 lead early in the fourth set before the Lady Eagles battled back to tie the match at 9-9. The Tigerettes held a narrow advantage through the midway point of the fourth set until Summertown rallied to take an 18-17 advantage. A Summertown error tied the match back at 18 points each before another Naylor kill gave her team a 19-18 lead.

Summertown tied the fourth set again at 22-22 before a pair of Lady Eagle errors gave Gordonsville a 24-23 advantage. The Tigerettes clinched their state championship berth on the ensuing point as a Bell kill from the left side found the floor to give Gordonsville the 25-23 win in the fourth set and 3-1 victory over Summertown.

The Tigerettes will face Eagleville (42-5) in the Class 1A championship game at 1 p.m. at Middle Tennessee State University. Friday’s game will be Gordonsville’s first state volleyball tournament championship game appearance.

“Eagleville’s record and reputation speak for itself,” said Leslie. “They’re a great program; we’re looking forward to one more day of practice. One more day gets us a little healthier and we’ll see what we can do.”