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Lady Panthers win region title




Portland players Katie Crutchfield (MVP), Emily Rogers, Josie Runyon, and Savannah Pippin were named to the All-Region Team Tuesday night.  Randy Dixon

Portland players Katie Crutchfield (MVP), Emily Rogers, Josie Runyon, and Savannah Pippin were named to the All-Region Team Tuesday night.  Randy Dixon

The Portland Lady Panthers came one step closer Tuesday night to achieving their aspirations at another state championship, after beating Camden in three sets to claim the Region 6-2A title. 

After sweeping Fairview in three sets in the semifinal match, Portland continued their dominance in the championship round. 

“We always talk about getting off to a fast start,” Portland coach Robert Lesemann said. “I hadn’t seen much of Camden before tonight, but I know they’re always well coached and I knew they would be good. They do some things different was far as hitting in different spots that we’re not used to seeing, so we had to adjust our defense to it. 

A six-point unanswered run midway through the first set gave Portland a 15-6 lead, which propelled them to a 25-12 win. 

The Lady Panthers saw much of the same in the second set, jumping out to a 17-9 lead en route to a 25-15 win, before finishing off Camden 25-13 in the third set. 

“We played pretty good in the first two sets, but in the third we slumped a little bit and I had to call timeout and get us straightened out,” Lesemann said. “We picked it back up after that and I was pretty happy with it.”

With the win, Portland will now move on to the TSSAA state sectionals. The Lady Panthers will host Region 5 runner-up Hume Fogg Thursday night at home, with the winner moving on to the state tournaments.

“Of course we want to win the state championship, but getting this far and winning the region, is a great year no matter what happens now,” Lesemann added. “Our goal is to get to the state tournament, and we’re going to work hard Thursday to reach those. It will be a good Hume Fogg team that comes in, but I want the girls to take the time and appreciate where we are at this point. There’s a lot of teams that would like to be here, and we’re here already.”

 

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