Make it five straight wins for the Lady Indians, ranked #4 in Class 1A-DI. TFS played host to Anderson (SC) on Tuesday evening, taking a 3-0 win to tally the season-high fifth consecutive win.
In the opening set, TFS took a 25-15 win behind solid efforts by the entire team, notably Sarah Jennings and Kitty Rodenas. Jennings had more six kills, and Rodenas had a few aces. Sofia Rueda’s block and kill, as well as Ashlyn Yaskiewicz’s block was all part of a 9-point serving run as TFS went up 11-1. Anderson rallied to score six straight before an unforced error ended the run. The Lady Indians then pulled away to win the first set.
The second set was quicker work for TFS in a 25-11 final, as Jennings had an early kill, ace, and key dig that got the Lady Indians up to a 5-2 lead, sparking a timeout. A 7-1 run after going down 2-1 propelled them to an 8-2 lead. Julianne Shirley had back-to-back aces to pad the lead to 15-4, and kills by Rodenas and a pair by McCoy got TFS within a point of ending the set. McCoy came up with a block to claim the set and 2-0 lead on the night.
In the final set, Anderson gave TFS all it could handle, pushing it to a 25-23 final score. Down by a couple of points early on, TFS pulled ahead 5-3 with Rodenas at serve. She and Jennings came up with key aces, and Elsa Sanchez tallied multiple kills to get Tallulah out in front. Anderson stormed back to tie the set at 19 apiece, and the sides went back and forth. A sensational sneaky kill by Rodenas when the other side thought she was going to set the ball made it 21-19, and McCoy came up with several big plays. Jennings knocked home the clinching kill to give TFS the 25-23 win and secure a 3-0 overall match victory.
Prior to the match, head coach Matt Heyl was recognized for reaching 100 career wins on August 25. President and Head of School Larry A. Peevy presented Heyl with a ball commemorating the milestone victory for Heyl.
The Lady Indians play next on Thursday at home in another best-of-5 match against Rabun Gap. TFS is now 11-3 overall on the season and currently stands at 5-1 in region play.
MATCH SCORES:
Lady Indians W 3-0 vs Anderson (SC): 25-15, 25-11, 25-23
JV
The Lady Indians JV team squared off Tuesday evening against Anderson (SC) in a best-of-3 match. TFS made quick work of the visitors with a straight-set win.
In the opening set, Rebecca Heyl, Kate Gary, and Kaylin Pickett were all over the court, not willing to let anything hit the floor. Heyl produced a number of kills in the first set as TFS took a 6-3 lead before an 8-0 Anderson run had the Lady Indians trailing 11-6. Chesney Tanksley had a pair of aces and Katarina Foskey a block to pull even at 14-14, forcing a timeout.
The teams battled back and forth, as Heyl and Kiersten George had go-ahead kill points. Gary’s ace made it 19-16 to prompt another Anderson timeout, and it was 23-16 before a final rally attempt by the visitors. A Heyl kill ended the first set with a 25-19 win.
Several of the girls played well in the second set, especially early on as the Lady Indians got up 5-2 quickly. What seemed like just moments later, TFS was up 13-5 racing toward the middle of the second set. Anderson tried to make a run to get back into it, but the lead ballooned up to 18-9 for the Lady Indians. The teams traded points until a couple of Heyl kills clinched the set and match with a 25-17 win.
TFS, which moves to 10-4 overall and remains 5-1 in region play, competes again on Thursday at home against Rabun Gap.
MATCH SCORES:
Lady Indians JV W 2-0 vs Anderson: 25-19, 25-17
