CLEVELAND DROPS FIRST GAME OF CLASS 3A STATE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
MURFREESBORO — The width of a finger.
That's how close the Cleveland volleyball team was to winning the first set and changing the entire trajectory of Tuesday afternoon's first round of the Division I-AAA state tournament.
Up 25-24 after fighting back to get a chance at a set point, the Lady Blue Raiders thought they had taken a 1-0 lead on a ball that fell just beyond the net on the side of their opponent, Collierville. Instead, it was saved inches before it hit the floor. Cleveland lost the point and eventually the set.
Collierville went on to defeat Cleveland 3-1 by scores of 28-26, 25-19, 18-25, and 25-21 to advance to the quarterfinals. The loss landed the Lady Raiders in the elimination round against Daniel Boone later in the day.
“We quit on the play because we thought we had the point won,” said Cleveland coach Amy McGowan. “The thing is we've already had a situation earlier in the year when we beat a really good St. Henry team who also beat Brentwood, and we won on a point just like that. You can't do that; you have to play until you hear the whistle.”
Despite a strong service game throughout the match — Cleveland (37-12) had four aces in the first set — they played from behind for most of the afternoon. Collierville (31-12) took leads of six and four points during the first set, but each time Cleveland clawed back. The Lady Raiders had two set points but couldn't cash in on either as what looked like a potential one-set lead turned into a deficit.
The second set went much like the first, with the two teams trading points early. Yet again, the Lady Dragons pulled ahead midway through the set with two separate four-point runs and lead 20-14. This time, however, Cleveland was unable to get back in the set and found themselves down 2-0.
A large Cleveland student section that traveled to support their team did all they could to keep the energy level high, and the Lady Raiders gave them a reason to cheer in the third set. Down 11-9 midway through, Cleveland closed the set scoring 16 of the final 25 points to stay in the match.
That momentum didn't last long, as Collierville dominated the fourth set. Cleveland didn't go down without a fight, however. Down 24-13, the Lady Raiders fought off eight straight match points to pull to within three points before the Lady Dragons finished off the victory.
“We played tight in those first two games and dug ourselves a hole,” McGowan said. “Joy Douglas was with us two years ago as a freshman when we made it to the state tournament and Lilly Oliver got some time, but other than that these girls haven't experience this. We're really young; we've got a few freshmen that start and some sophomores that play, so this experience even in a loss is good for us down the road.”