Stone Memorial Wins Five-Set Thriller At Cumberland County, 3-2

By Michael Lindsay

The Stone Memorial Lady Panther volleyball team opened District 7-2A play with a road win on Tuesday as they traveled 4 miles through Crossville to defeat the Cumberland County Lady Jets in 5 sets, 3-2.

“We definitely had to fight for it,” said Stone Memorial head coach Brooklyn Buck.” This is my most competitive group; we got down little bit, but they switched it back on when they needed to.”

Seven consecutive matchups between Stone Memorial and Cumberland County have went to the fifth set dating back to the 2024 season, with the Lady Panthers holding a 4-3 record in those matchups.

“I told them if they wanted it, they gotta fight for it,” said Buck. “Cumberland County is always an intense game. We’re cross-town rivals; it’s always the biggest crowd and hardest environment to play in.”

Stone Memorial jumped out to a 2-0 set lead via back-to-back 25-22 wins. Cumberland County stormed back to win the third set 25-16 and fourth 25-20 to force a winner-take-all fifth set to 15. The Lady Jets took an 8-4 lead midway through the period before Stone Memorial stormed back to win the fifth set 15-12 and win the match.

“Lauren Clark had some huge blocks and really put the pressure on them,” said Buck. “She was very aggressive at the net. My defense, was doing great: Brylee Brown, Mia Jones and Brooke Wilson.

“It was a hard environment to play in,” added Buck. “For the girls to come on the road and get it done here is huge for us.”

Stone Memorial improves to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in district play while Cumberland County falls to 1-1 and 0-1. Up next for Cumberland County is a home district match against DeKalb County on Thursday while Stone Memorial hosts Gordonsville.