by Rusty Ellis
The Gordonsville Tigerettes tightened their hold on the top of the District 7-A standings with their 3-0 win over Clarkrange on Monday.
GHS got off to a hot start in the opening frame, as a Kali Underwood kill gave the Tigerettes an early 7-3 lead. Back-to-back kills from Kamara Young pushed the advantage to 10-4, and Gordonsville held off a late Clarkrange rally to win the first set 25-16.
The second saw more back-and-forth action, as Clarkrange started to put together some momentum and took a 7-4 lead. A Kelcie Watts kill cut the lead down to just two, and back-to-back kills from Emma Crawford tied the set at 9-9. After tying the score at 12-12, Gordonsville began to pull away a little using a Watts ace, and though the Lady Buffaloes were more competitive in this set, it ended in a 25-21 win for the Tigerettes.
Gordonsville didn’t let off the gas in the third set, taking a 9-4 lead on a Kelsey Haley ace to force a CHS timeout. Clarkrange battled back from the deficit to tie the score at 13-13, but couldn’t find enough steam to slow down the Tigerettes. Back-to-back kills from Brooke Briggs punctuated a 25-17 win in the third, completing the sweep for GHS.
For head coach Brian Leslie, getting off to a great start in the opening set really set the tone for the entire match, and a lot of that was credited to the passing out of the back row.
“I thought that we came out and hit the ball really well, and that all starts with our passing,” Leslie said. “We were able to find multiple hitters in the front row and when you’ve got that many options, you really make it hard on the opposing team’s defense to know where you’re hitting from.”
The second set proved to be the closest of the night, and as far as what made the difference in winning and losing it, Leslie says that increased intensity near the end of the set put the Tigerettes over the top.
“Clarkrange played much better in that second set, and I think we let down a little bit after winning the first,” Leslie said. “I think as we built a little momentum near the end, we started to see the intensity come right back up, and that made the difference for us.”
The Tigerettes maintained their undefeated record in district play, and things are looking really good for GHS with postseason looming.
That doesn’t mean Leslie is planning a district championship celebration yet, however.
“We haven’t lost in the district yet, but we’ve got a really good district as far as parity goes,” Leslie said. “I really think anyone in this district can beat anyone on any given night, so we just want to finish the regular season strong.”
Gordonsville will host York Institute on Tuesday, while Clarkrange will head to Celina to take on Clay County.
