REGION CHAMPIONS: Upperman Overcomes 21-12 Second-Set Deficit To Sweep Central Magnet In 4-2A Championship Game

By Michael Lindsay

The Upperman Lady Bees are back on top of the Region 4-2A volleyball world following Tuesday’s tournament action as they defeated Forrest in the semifinals 3-1 before sweeping Central Magnet in the championship, 3-0.

Upperman’s region championship didn’t come without drama as they faced a 21-12 deficit in the second set of the championship match before going on a 13-1 run to win it 25-22.

“It was all heart,” said Upperman head coach Tori Permenter. “That second set, we were down 9 points and it was everything. I couldn’t be more proud of my girls. It means everything to me because I know it means everything to the girls; they deserve all of this. That was a total team effort win.”

Before the championship series with Central Magnet, the Lady Bees opened Tuesday’s action with a 3-1 win over Forrest. Upperman took the first set 25-18 before Forrest responded to win the second, 25-22. The Lady Bees rallied to take care of business in the next two sets, winning 25-15 and 25-12 to clinch their championship berth.

Upperman sophomore hitter Presley Hickman was named tournament MVP along with Emery Huddleston, Shayla Burchett and Josie Bush making the all-tournament team. Hickman had 11 kills and 7 aces in the championship game along with 10 kills from Bush and 7 aces by Launa Smallwood. Tuesday was Permenter’s second consecutive region championship as she won it as the head coach of Stone Memorial last season.

Stone Memorial faced Central Magnet in the second semifinal and fell to the Lady Tigers, 3-0. Central took the first set 25-19 before winning the second 25-23 and third 25-16 to advance to the championship match immediately after against Upperman.

The Lady Bees jumped out to a 20-12 lead in the first set of the championship match against Central Magnet before the Lady Tigers pulled within 4 points at 24-20, but a Hickman kill gave Upperman a 25-20 first-set win.

Central Magnet held a 9-7 lead early in the second set before going on a 7-1 run to lead 16-8 midway through the frame. The Lady Tigers extended their lead to 21-12 late in the second set, needing only 4 points to tie the match at 1 set each.

Upperman chipped away at their deficit as a 4-1 run made the score 22-16 before a Central Magnet timeout. The Lady Bees kept their rally going after the break as 6 unanswered points capped off by a Hickman ace tied the match at 22 points each, erasing the 9-point deficit they faced only minutes before.

“I told them if we could get to 17, we’ve been in this spot before,” said Permenter. “We do a drill in practice called ‘comeback drill’ where you face a 21-17 deficit. We took it one point at a time, and I told them even if we lost the set we could create momentum.”

Hickman put the set away without Central Magnet returning a ball as she followed the game-tying ace with three more aces to complete the 25-22 second-set victory and 13-1 comeback run for Upperman.

“We created so much momentum that they finished it out,” said Permenter. “That was the best set I’ve ever seen in my 8 years coaching volleyball.”

The Lady Bees handled business in the third set, winning 25-16 to clinch the Region 4-2A championship victory and a home Class 3A sectional game on Thursday against Meigs County at 6 p.m.

“I’ve only been here a short amount of time, and Baxter is special,” said Permenter. “They come out to every game and you see our home crowd. Our girls are so excited to host a substate game and that’s what you fight for in the postseason. I can’t wait to see what we can do.”