After years of complete dominance ended in 2007, Glencliff has moved back into the championship hall in District 12-AAA volleyball.
Host Glencliff outlasted old rival Antioch in five tough games to capture the tournament crown Wednesday afternoon. It gave the Colts and Coach Glenn Falls their 25th district crown in the past 28 years.
On match point in the fifth and final gripping game, Audrehona (Cupcake) Mingo pounded a cross-court ball that was deflected out of bounds. It enabled the top-seeded Colts to rally for a two-hour victory against the Bears in a 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 25-13, 15-13 win.
“I was so happy when I saw the ball deflect out of bounds,’’ said Mingo, who was named regular season district MVP. “We all came together that fifth game.’’
Two years ago, Hunters Lane brought an end to a streak of 19 straight district titles for the Colts with a semifinal tourney win. Last year, Antioch, the top seed, beat Glencliff in the finals. In their two regular season matches, Antioch won in four games and Glencliff avenged that with a five-game win.
“We finally got the championship back after three years,’’ said tournament MVP Brianna Morrow who had several key blocks late in the fourth set and in the fifth. “I was very excited and very nervous in the fifth game. Everyone just went out that last game and gave it their best.’’
(Morrow and Mingo were featured in The City Paper during the season. Read their story here [1].)
“It’s good to get back on top after we missed out the last two years,’’ Falls said.
Senior Amanda Davis, who had several digs and sets, suffered a leg cramp in the fourth game, but stayed in.
“I got a cramp when I went crashing into the stands,’’ she said. “But that was the wrong time to come out, I made up my mind I’d tough it out.’’
Antioch was led by the strong spiking and blocking of Mariah Beverly and Haley Overby and the pin-point serving of Jesmy Diaz. The Bears survived a tough five-game semis match Tuesday with Hillwood, who survived seven match points to stay in the match.
Glencliff (24-1) and Antioch (26-7) both qualified for the Region 6-AAA tournament next Tuesday where the site is expected to be Brentwood or Ravenwood.
State golf
Defending champion Christ Presbyterian Academy finished a distant second to champion Christian Academy of Knoxville in the state A/AA golf tournament in Murfreesboro which ended Wednesday.
CPA, which was in third place to start the day, rallied a bit but was too far down to catch CAK (612) which finished 21 shots ahead of runner-up CPA (633).
DeKalb County’s Payne Denman defended his individual crown. CPA sophomore Peyton Deming finished 10th (152), Seniors Taylor Dreps and Kevin Ryan (158) finished in a three-way tie for 19th at 158. Lipscomb’s Dustin Wilder placed 24th with a 161.
In the girls division, the highest Nashville area finisher was Goodpasture junior Nicole Pappas who finished 25th with a 191.
Links:
[1] http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/sports/glencliff-coach-has-winning-double-dose-volleyball-generations