Synchronistic Lady ‘Toppers Sweep THS, Secure 5th Straight Regional Berth (2024)

JOHNSON CITY – The Science Hill Lady Hilltoppers continue to be in complete synchronicity at the District 1-AAA Volleyball Tournament.

Tuesday evening, the synchronous Lady ‘Toppers (33-5) swept past Tennessee High 25-12, 25-18, 25-18 to advance to Thursday’s championship round to face the survivor of Wednesday’s elimination match between the Lady Vikings (28-9) and Dobyns-Bennett.

“Right now, everyone is just on the same page, they come in and prepare and they are focused on the match that night,” said Science Hill coach Laura Cook. “They all know their jobs and their roles. They let mistakes go and stay even-keeled.”

The victory also clinches a spot in the Region 1-AAA Tournament for a fifth straight season.

“It feels really great,” said senior middle hitter Chelsea Blaine. “Of course we are still going to try and go for the district championship, too, even though we are already guaranteed regionals. It just means a lot because we’ve worked so hard for this. This has been a goal since July.”

Perhaps no two Lady ‘Toppers were more in synch than Blaine and setter Ella Neal, whose quick sets and Blaine’s amazing arm speed often produce indefensible attacks.

“I have a fast arm swing,” said Blaine. “Having that makes my hits a lot more powerful. We have a lot of weight lifting here so a lot of the strength comes from weight lifting.”

Blaine hit a cool .500 on the night with 14 kills on 26 attacks.

“We always want to keep an open hole for all of our pins,” Blaine said, “So we try to establish the middle early on, which is why in serve receive we try and get me or Clara (McBride) the ball so we’ll have the other team guessing where the ball is going next.”

Seemingly hanging the air while surveying the defense Addi Stables led the ‘Topper offense with 15 kills on a .371 hitting percentage to go with 13 digs and three blocks.

“That’s just high level volleyball, the way she can get up and still see the court and find the hole,” noted Cook. “Both outsides (Chloe Conner) really can really see it and put it where they’re not.”

Bryleigh Scott finished with six kills, McBride chipped in with four and Neal added three while dishing out an amazing 40 assists. As a team Science Hill hit a strong .346.

“Across the board our hitters knew when to drop the hammer or knew when to go for a shot,” added Cook.

Campbell Hixson paced the defense effort with 23 digs with Avery Bragg coming up with 11.

“Campbell had a lot of good digs,” said Cook. “She’s reading and reacting and running a lot of stuff down for us.

“I think we’ve had a really good defensive tournament. I think our back row has stepped up across the board.”

Hixson said a familiarity with the Lady Vikings helped the defensive cause.

“Since it’s postseason now, we know what their tools are and what they use and who their hitters are and what they use,” explained Hixson. “We do have a sense of where they are going and what we can do to help out back there.

“Being on my toes and always being ready and listening to the feedback my teammates are giving me helps as well.”

The Lady ‘Toppers dominated the first set, but the Lady Vikings hung much tougher in the final two.

“Science Hill don’t get me wrong, they are a great team. They are amazing,” said Tennessee High coach Carley Williams. “They are solid and they work well together.

“I think in the second and third sets we showed that we play to the exact same level. I think the girls hear so much about Science Hill being fast-paced, but so are we. We are a fast-paced team, we are a good team.

The tide of the second set changed with the score tied at 17-17. Chasing down a ball near the referee chair, Stables whipped the third hit back over her right shoulder, diagonally crossing the net and landing in at the feet of Williams. The Lady Vikings scored only point the rest of the set.

“Momentum is everything in volleyball,” Williams said. “And we had it. It’s crazy how much one point can affect so much, but it does, especially a ball like that. If it’s a hard ball by a great swing, you can move on, but something like that really gets in your head. Definitely a momentum shifter.”

Tied 10-10 in the fourth, Blaine rocked consecutive kills and the Lady ‘Toppers never looked back.

“Anything can change momentum in volleyball, you just aren’t sure what it’s going to be,” noted Cook. “Tennessee High is a really good team and we expected a battle and to go point for point.”

Sophie Stallcup led Tennessee High with eight kills. Ashton Blair and Erin Littleton finished with five kills apiece. Bree Adams dished out 20 assists and came up with eight digs.

Addy Gentry picked up 15 digs, Karis Ward contributed seven digs with Blair and Delany Linkous working for five each.

While Tennessee High returns to the court on Wednesday, Science Hill will get a much-needed day off before Thursday’s championship round.

“It does take a lot of pressure off,” said Hixson. “This is what we’ve been working for. This is what we do as a team. We are very excited.”

Synchronistic Lady ‘Toppers Sweep THS, Secure 5th Straight Regional Berth (2024)
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