Farragut sweeps
Admirals 3
Mountaineers 0
Heritage made some loud noise early in its volleyball match against Farragut, rallying from an 11-8 deficit to lead 16-12 and 18-15 in game 1.
The Admirals, in a manner typical of its District 4-AAA dominance during most of the 21st century, rallied with a 10-2 run to capture that game 25-20.
That run included six kills from Alexis Parker, senior outside hitter, a block and kill from Shelby Rawls, senior middle hitter, and a service ace from Madi Howell, senior libero.
The final two games in FHS’s Lynn E. Sexton Gymnasium were a breeze for head coach Susan Davidson’s Class AAA perennial power. Farragut rolled 25-12, 25-16 for a sweep Thursday, Sept. 1.
About falling behind early, “I think that was almost a blessing in disguise because it made us push as a team and it made us play really well for a few points in a row,” Anne Abernathy, FHS senior outside hitter, said.
Davidson said Abernathy “played well tonight. She had 11 kills and she had four blocks. She served really well. She had two aces, which for a big girl that’s a great thing. And she had nine points in the three [games].”
Parker, an Indiana University commitment, “always is a great go-to player,” Davidson said. “She carries herself with poise even when she makes a mistake. She remains calm and says, ‘Let’s just play the point.’”
Parker ended with 17 kills, six digs and five blocks.
“Shelby, our middle [hitter], did a great job,” Davidson said. “Shelby’s very, just, even-keel. But tonight, Shelby was really, really big on the blocks.”
Rawls ended with six blocks, seven kills and 12 service points that included three aces.
In rallying, “I think we started coming together more at the end of that [first] game,” Rawls said.
“It was a very good comeback. I thought Heritage served us really tough and it was bothering us a little bit on our passing,” said Davidson, whose team improved to 13-2 overall, 3-0 in 4-AAA. “We made some adjustments and the girls got in sync. … I thought both setters, Sydney Cherney and Allison Yander, did a great job in that first set when we weren’t getting them the best pass. They made something out of it.”
Farragut’s district mark also included a huge win against 4-AAA top contender Maryville at MHS in four games Tuesday, Aug. 30.
“I think we’re playing a lot better together and I think our team chemistry has really started to come together,” Abernathy said.
Heritage fell to 1-2 in 4-AAA. Head coach Jason Keeble said he did not know his team’s overall record.
“With us being undersized, to compete with the top two or three teams in our district we rely a lot on serving tough and ball control. But once we start making errors, it’s over,” Keeble said. “We didn’t make many errors starting off [game 1]. … Really from 20-20 in that first game I think they closed on a 5-0 run to beat us.
“In that second game it all fell apart, the wheels came off.”
