The Lady Indians won their ninth straight match on Tuesday night, and it was a big one, as #10 Tallulah Falls got revenge in a 3-0 road win at #4 Loganville Christian.
It was a stellar evening for the girls, who fought hard to win 25-22, 25-23, 26-24. Every set was close with little to no margin for error. The win also ties the teams atop the region standings at 8-1 each, splitting against each other in the regular season.
Ca’Rin Swinton had a great blocking night, along with Lily Smith and Jace Ibemere getting some important blocks and touches against their star outside hitters, according to coach Matt Heyl. Becca Heyl led the offensive attack with some aggressive hitting, assisted by Margalida Amengual Sanchez with some on-point sets.
Sanchez had what Heyl referred to as ‘miracle sets’ on some very tight passes right on net. Lily Smith had a solid outing offensively, too. Laura Ruiz Rendon led the defense with sacrifice and some great digs.
“The whole team played tenacious on defense with a mentality of sacrifice for the team,” adds Heyl. “Chesney [Tanksley] led in that area just getting off the plane from Germany, but still wanting to be there for her team and play with extreme jet-lag. And then it worked out perfectly to have Shelby [Whisnant] walk back to the service line down 23-24 and deliver three great serves to take them off their game and gave Margalida a chance to give Becca a great set to put the ball and match away.”
TFS is now 21-14 on the season and 8-1 in region play. The win marks the fourth over a ranked opponent this season, and it’s the highest-ranked team this year that the girls have bested.
The JV Lady Indians also came away victorious, winning in three sets, 25-15, 25-17, 15-11.
Tori Crotta had six aces, five kills, and a run of eight at serve to lead TFS. Keely Franks (four aces), Stella Bowman (three kills, three aces), Emma Whisnant (four kills, one ace), and Finlee Ridlehoover (three aces, two kills) all were pivotal to the win.
The JV team is 12-11 overall and 5-3 in region play.
