For the third time this season we witnessed the Lady Blazers and the Lady Colonels. For the first time on a neutral court.
At Christian County it was a 3-0 UHA victory.
At UHA it was a 3-1 Lady Blazer win.
Then came Thursday night on post at Fort Campbell. The result did not shift.
A three set to none win for the Lady Blazers and another tough, hard fought loss for the Lady Colonels.
Set one was as advertised. Back and forth affair like a big time boxing bout. Body blow after body blow and with an 18-15 lead for UHA a timeout was called.
Out of that timeout, things definitely shifted the way of the Lady Blazers. They would go on a mini run to take a 21-15 lead that twenty-first point coming on a bang-bang call in the far right corner of their half of the court as a line judge trying to get out of the way saw the ball ricochet off his rising foot. He deemed the ball would have been out, point UHA and timeout County.
When action resumed, so did the Lady Blazers fire. Not letting up they continued and proceeded to a 25-17 set one win.
Set two early seemed as if it would be more of the same. As we reached a 4-3 Lady Colonel lead and a yellow card was issued to County.
The card seemed to ignite and light a fire underneath the Lady Colonels as they went on their first big run taking a 15-10 lead and forcing a UHA timeout.
Head Coach Faye Hendricks must have said something because out of that timeout here came the Lady Blazers storming back. UHA cut the deficit to 17-16 and forced County into a timeout.
As action once again picked back up the Lady Blazers powered on taking a 21-18 lead in which once again the twenty-first point was contentious according to many Lady Colonel faithful.
UHA would stay composed and fight on to win set two 25-20 and take a two set lead.
Set three looked very similar to set four from the game earlier in the year at UHA. The Lady Blazers roared out of the gate and ran off a 9-2 run as the Lady Colonels called a timeout and looked flustered and out of gas.
County battled their tails off though out of the timeout, but the deficit remained at seven points, as they called another timeout trailing 22-15.
The Lady Blazers and star hitter Julia Thomas, who down the stretch was very vocal on the court with her team, stayed poised and won set three, and their fifth straight district title, 25-16. The celebration ensued.
County did not have their best day, and Head Coach Rick Erickson would make no excuse for his team. Controversial calls and whatever else aside, they needed to play better.
That being said their season is not over. They now look to take on Crittenden County who, of their three possible opponents, was most definitely the most favorable matchup. The Lady Rockets went 18-14 on the season and 13-4 against the region, including a loss to Christian County in four sets back on September 13th. As you can see, that bodes well for the Lady Colonels. Not to mention their likely to face Madisonville in the semifinals if they win. A team that albeit it they have not beat this season, but have seen multiple times including in a non-tournament format game at home back on September 6th. How much do games, at this point, from early to mid September matter? Only one way to find out.
Meanwhile, things did not go as splendidly for the Lady Blazers. Make no mistake, they will make no excuses and have all the makings of a state tournament bound team. However, their draw was much less advantageous. Of the three runners-up they could have drawn they drew the best. Caldwell County was the only one with a winning record this year, by quite a large margin and assuming UHA wins, and certainly they are favored, they would more than likely face Henderson County in the semifinals. The number one team in the district according to several people I spoke with. That is right, despite a loss to Madisonville, which came way back in late August, many people in and around the region said to me in passing they believe the Lady Colonels of Henderson were the better team. UHA also never had a chance to face Henderson County this year, in a tournament or otherwise. They faced Madisonville, twice.
All of the above aside, you still have to play the game. If the Lady Blazers play their best, they can beat anyone. See their recent win over Apollo if you doubt them. The Lady Colonels can do the same thing, see their win over Crittenden and some highly competitive sets with Madisonville, UHA, and the like. They just have to finish sets when they are in position to win them, and as Head Coach Rick Erickson has pointed out, stay positive and engaged.
Below you will find the full region bracket with dates and times. See you next week!
