Lady Trojans rally late to earn Region 7-AA title

Down two sets against Crockett County in the championship game of the Region 7-AA tournament, it appeared the DHS Lady Trojan volleyball team was in position to drop a match on its home floor for only the second time this season.

Appearances can sure be deceiving.

With their backs against the wall and needing a miraculous rally to prevent a runner-up finish, the local squad came out for the third set inspired to overcome the odds. And keep their hopes of a region title alive.

With the support of perhaps the largest crowd to ever witness a volleyball match at DHS, the Lady Trojans won the third, fourth and fifth and deciding set to earn the right to be called champions and move one step closer to earning a trip to Murfreesboro and the TSSAA state tournament.

The final scores were 24-26, 18-25, 25-22, 25-16 and 15-11.

"Oh my goodness. As a coach, I just can't believe the way the girls responded after falling behind by two sets," said a beaming Dyersburg head coach Sarah Morris. "The team simply wasn't going to allow Crockett County to come in here and win on our home floor."

To get to the championship game, the Lady Trojans first had to get past a South Side squad already with two wins over Dyersburg in the regular season.

It wasn't even close.

The Lady Trojans played perhaps their finest three sets of the season to advance to the championship game, winning with relative ease 25-15, 25-17 and 25-19.

"We were really nervous going into the game against South Side, but man did we come out and play hard. We got a couple of breaks along the way, but everybody played extremely well the entire three sets," said Morris.

South Side gave an outstanding effort, but throughout the match everything the Lady Hawks threw at Dyersburg was returned, blocked or kept alive by the local squad on a mission to advance to the title game.

The serves of Amber Moody, the sets of Lauren Lewis, the net play of Shelby Andrews, Rachel Gauldin, Erin Pierce and Anna Claire Bradshaw, not to mention the defensive effort of tournament MVP Mary Jewels Baker, all proved to be more than South Side could stand.

After eliminating the Lady Hawks, the only question needing an answer was which team -- Chester County or Crockett County -- would advance to meet Dyersburg in the championship game?

The Lady Cavaliers answered the question by disposing of the District 14 champions in four sets to set up the fourth meeting of the season with the Lady Trojans.

While Dyersburg could do no wrong against South Side, in the championship match things went from bad to worse in the first two sets as the squad struggled to find a rhythm.

"They (Crockett County) totally changed up what they had done against us before and it took us two sets to wake up and get going," added Morris. "But, once we got going, we really got going."

In the third set, Dyersburg trailed 11-7 before knotting the contest at 11-11 on a laser kill from Andrews. Perhaps feeling a shift in momentum, the Lady Cavaliers called timeout to regroup.

The quick stop in the action allowed the Lady Cavaliers to regain their poise as the two squads battled point to point with neither able to get a sizable advantage.

The Lady Trojans took a 22-20 lead on a kill from Bradshaw, eventually winning the set 25-22 to extend the match.

In the fourth set the two squads once again went back and forth. Pierce put the local squad ahead 15-14 with a nice block of Crockett County's Jasmine Johnson's attempted kill shot.

Dyersburg scored six-of-the-next-seven points to take a 21-15 lead before forcing a fifth and final set, winning 25-15.

In the final set, a race to 15, the Lady Trojans fell behind 4-0, forcing Morris to call for timeout.

"We needed to get the ball back and be able to serve. We changed a few things and it worked just like we hoped it would," said Morris.

Once Dyersburg was able to serve, Moody began with an ace, followed by kills from Andrews and Bradshaw before another ace from Moody lifted Dyersburg to a 5-4 advantage.

The Lady Trojans recorded five of the following six points to take a 10-5 lead and force a Lady Cavalier timeout. Though Crockett County got as close as 12-10, an ace from Lewis, a block from Pierce and a set-winning kill from Gauldin set the near- capacity crowd into a frenzy as Dyersburg celebrated winning the title with the 15-10 victory.

"This is amazing. I really want to thank our fans for their support. I've never seen this many people here for a volleyball game and without them I don't think the girls would have fought back as hard as they did, so thank you," said Morris.

Earning All-Region tournament honors were Chester County's Elizabeth Harding, Crockett County's Jasmine Johnson and Abby East, Dyersburg's Erin Pierce and Shelby Andrews. The Region 7 tournament MVP was Mary Jewels Baker.

"We've earned everything we've got this year and we just have to stay focused and keep working hard. But yes, a trip to Murfreesboro would sure be nice," added Morris.

With the victory, Dyersburg is within one victory of advancing to the state tournament. The squad will host the runner-up from the Region 8 tournament on Thursday in a Sectional contest. Game time is yet to be determined.