Irish punch their ticket
Knoxville — It wasn’t easy but the Knoxville Catholic High School volleyball team was able to punch its ticket to the Midstate and the Division II-AA State Tournament over the weekend.
The Lady Irish (24-8) had to endure a five-set match on their way to eliminating Lipscomb Academy, 25-19, 14-25, 13-25, 25-22, 15-9, Saturday in the state quarterfinals at KCHS.
Catholic started fast and took the opening set before things went south.
“We fell apart a little there in sets two and three, and they were up in the fourth (set) before we finally picked it up and started to play,” Lady Irish coach Brent Carter said. “They’re a good team but we really picked it up and we played well.
“A lot of that goes to our two setters, Olivia Mikels and Channing Hurley, for their passing. Our middles, Mia Kinney and Katie Judd, really changed the direction of the game. Those four kids really stepped up and made some big plays for us. Our defensive specialist, Mayela Rodriguez ,was our best and most consistent server.”
With the hard-fought victory, the Lady Irish punched their ticket to the State Final Four in Middle Tennessee. Catholic opened play in the double-elimination tournament against Briarcrest Christian School on Tuesday afternoon. Results were not available at press time. Tournament play continues through Thursday.
