By Allen Hamrick
The season has ended for the Lady Panther volleyball team, and what a glorious ending it was.
The Lady Panthers were in action this past week at the sectional tournament. Here is where it would be determined who would move on to the regional level. In the first round, the Ladies beat up on the Lady Eagles of Braxton and looked like a team bent on returning to the state championships. They then had to go up against the Lady Raiders of Roane County – the no. 1 seed. It would prove to be one of the best matches at the tournament.
The Lady Raiders were good and underestimated the Lady Panthers just a little too much, and the Lady Panthers drove the games to the limit with an awesome display of volleyball. Even with the losses, both teams went above the normal play of the game and were mixing up their styles.
The match came down to the fifth game with both teams getting wins under their belts. In the fifth game, the winning score is 15 points and mistakes have to be eliminated. The Lady Raiders scored a quick four points before the Lady Panthers could answer with one of their own. It went back and forth, but it was the Lady Raiders getting the win and the match.
The Lady Panthers were in a hole now and would have to win the next three matches in order to move on to the regional competition. Without much rest, the Lady Panthers were in action again against Lewis County. They defeated them and came back the next night to take on the Lady Grizzlies of Nicholas. The Lady Panthers played hard but just couldn’t get back to the same fire they had at the beginning of the tournament. It isn’t to say that they didn’t take the games to the next level, but mistakes and fatigue proved too much.
The girls had a good season and finished it by playing good, hard volleyball and giving us our money’s worth. Go Lady Panthers.