Crittenden County took care of business on Tuesday the way a senior-laden team that was part of five previous district championships should.
The Lady Rockets beat Livingston Central in straight sets 25-12, 25-12, 25-19 to claim their sixth straight district championship and first for Savanna Tays who took over as head coach of the team on August 23 after a 3-6 start.
“I knew they could do it. They’ve worked hard, they’ve earned it, they deserve it. And they really went out there tonight and they played very well together,” she said.
Crittenden jumped ahead 10-3 in the first set and tacked on an 8-0 run for an 18-4 lead.
They used a similar quick start in the second set, leading 10-1 and not allowing Livingston Central to get closer than four points the rest of the way.
The third set was much closer and produced some late drama. There were nine ties and seven lead changes before Livingston took a 19-17 lead and appeared to have the momentum. A shot by Crittenden’s Payton Hall down the line was called in by the official on the far side causing an instant reaction from the Livingston players closest to the play.
The Lady Cardinals never recovered as Crittenden scored the final eight points of the set to claim the match.
After posting 13 aces in its semifinal win over Trigg County earlier in the evening, Livingston managed only one ace against Crittenden.
“I have some of the best defensive players out there. I can’t brag on them enough. They don’t let the ball hit the ground, and they know if the ball is going to hit the ground, a body is going to hit the ground after it,” Tays said.
Crittenden had 33 digs in the match, led by Hannah Mott and Riley Kirby with seven each.
Carly Porter had eight kills and Katie Perryman added six.
Livingston Central had six kills for the Lady Cardinals, and Emersyn Ramage added four.
Crittenden’s win was its 34th straight against district opposition dating back to 2017 and the Lady Rockets became the first school to win six straight Fifth District titles.
Both the Lady Cardinals (10-10) and Lady Rockets (15-13) move into next week’s region tournament at Caldwell County.
“The first round is going to be a fight. There are some great second seeds coming into the thing. As long as we keep playing good defense, I think we’ll do good as long as we show up and show out,” said Tays, who improved to 13-7 as a head coach.
