The Todd County Central Lady Rebels are so close to being 2-0 after the opening day of pool play at the All A Classic state volleyball tournament. Instead, the Lady Rebels find themselves at 0-2 after a pair of very tough three set losses Friday night.
In the opener Friday evening, the Lady Rebels had trouble containing Whitesville Trinity’s Hannah Nash, as Nash led the Lady Raiders to a two set to one win over Todd Central.
The Lady Rebels took an early 5-1 lead in the opening set. Trinity battled back and evened the score at 7-7. From there the score would be tied at 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15. Trinity broke the set open with a 5-0 run to take a 20-15 lead. The Lady Raider would claim the set 25-19 to go up one set to none. Trinity took the set despite a combined seven kills from Lucy Chester and Lanie Bivins.
The Lady Rebels darted out to a 9-4 lead in the second set behind a strong start from Lucy Chester. Trinity battled back to tie the set at 14-14, but this time it would be the Lady Rebels who finished strong and claimed the set 25-20. Lanie Bivins had seven kills in the set to lead the Lady Rebel attack. Lucy Chester added five.
As the deciding set got underway, it looked as if Trinity might run away and hide early. The Lady Raiders got out to a 5-1 lead. Todd Central battled back to tie the set at 14-14 and the battle was on. The set would be tied at 15, 16, 17, and 19. The Lady Raiders then used a 6-1 run to finish the set, taking a 25-20 win and a two set to one win in the match. Addileigh Wofford and Lanie Bivins had big plays coming down the stretch for the Lady Rebels, but it was not enough to overcome the strong finish for Trinity’s Hannah Nash.
The second match of pool play for the Todd Central Lady Rebels turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than it was already going to be. Senior Lucy Chester aggravated a nagging wrist injury she has been dealing with all season long and was unavailable for the Lady Rebels against the Raceland Lady Rams.
Without Chester on the floor, it took a while for the Lady Rebels to get their bearings. Led by the play of Reagan Mackie and Shaelee Holbrook, Raceland jumped out to a quick 15-2 lead in the opening set. From their, the Lady Rebels played even with the Lady Rams, but the damage had been done for the set, as Raceland would take the set 25-15.
Raceland took an early 6-3 lead in the second set, but this time, the Lady Rebels found a way to fight back and get themselves into the set. Behind Lynnlee Jones, Lanie Bivins, and Allyssa Wofford, Todd Central came roaring back and took a 9-6 lead. The set bounced back and forth and saw the Lady Rebels leading 23-22 late. Todd Central scored the final two points, including a kill by Lynnlee Jones to close out the set at 25-22 and to even the match at one set apiece.
The deciding third set saw Raceland use a big run early in the set to take control. With the Lady Rams up 6-5, Raceland scored eight straight points to go up 14-5. The Lady Rebels could get no closer than six points for the rest of the set as Raceland took the set 25-15 and the match two sets to one.
The Lady Rebels will now close out pool play Saturday morning as they take on Eminence. After pool play concludes, play in the championship and the consolation brackets will get underway.
