Lady Rebels Get Back On Track To Continue District Championship Streak

Since moving into District 1-A in 2013 the South Greene volleyball team has looked invincible in league play, winning every match and every title, until this season.

This year both North Grene and West Greene broke decade-long losing streaks to the Lady Rebels and South Greene went into the District 1-A Tournament as the No.3 seed. But after two hard-fought matches against their cross-county rivals on Thursday night at North Greene the Lady Rebels are back where they have always been, the District 1-A Champions.

“We came in as the underdogs, and it’s been a difficult year. Our gym caught on fire, then there was the flood. We’ve been dealt a crappy hand, but we wanted to prove everybody that doubted us wrong,” South Greene senior and Tournament MVP Davanie Tarlton MVP said. “We wanted to do this for ourselves and our community. Winning tonight means the world to us. This season did not get off to a good start, and nobody wants to break the streak. We were scared it was going to happen, but we just had to put our fears aside and keep going.”

The Lady Rebels have now won 16 straight district championships, and their pursuit of a 16th straight state tournament berth continues next week in the Region 1-A Tournament.

In Thursday’s championship game South Greene defeated top seed West Greene 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-23.

“I feel like the game changer tonight was keeping our energy up,” Tarlton said. “At times this season when we got behind our energy went down. But tonight, we got excited and we didn’t let the little mistakes get to us. Our seniors were big tonight. We really wanted it, and we needed it.”

Thursday’s first set got off to strong start for the Lady Rebels as Bailey Ricker sent over seven consecutive serves on the way to a 9-1 lead. Tarlton made her presence felt early as she pounded three kills in that opening stretch.

After two aces by Cassidy Hill and a tip and a kill from Morgan Moody the Lady Buffaloes closed the gap to 9-7. Tarlton got South Greene going again with two kills as the lead grew to 15-7.

Hill pushed a ball deep to the back line to narrow the margin to 19-16, and then a rotation error brought West Greene within two points. A kill by Addison Peters cut South Greene’s lead to 21-19, but Tarlton followed with three straight thunderous slams. Sadie Trammell finished the 25-19 South Greene win with an ace.

South Greene played from in front for almost the entirety of the second set, but never by much.

An ace by Hill put West Greene in front at 5-4, but Tarlton took that lead back with a kill. Whitney Reaves put South Greene in front at 8-6 when she got a free ball to drop.

The Lady Rebels biggest lead came at 13-9 after Baylee Jenning came up with a block and Tarlton landed two kills from the middle.

West Greene began closing the gap with a tip by Hill and an ace by Peters narrowed the margin to 20-19. West Greene tied the match at 20-20 when Braelynn Willis got a free ball to roll down the net.

A tough block by Jennings put South Greene in front 23-20, but West Greene clawed back again and Hill tied the set at 24-24 with a tip.

On the next point a swing by Hill knocked Reaves off her feet, but she kept the ball in the air which allowed Tarlton to land a kill for a 25-24 lead. Tarlton finished the 26-24 South Greene win with another kill.

Tarlton finished the night with 20 kills for the Lady Rebels, a dominant performance that led to her earning MVP honors.

“I’m just looking for open holes on the floor, because West Greene and North Greene have amazing defenders,” Tarlton said. “It’s hard to find the holes the first time, but once you find them you can keep finding them. Then our serves were really consistent, and when you have good serves it gets everything else started.”

In the third set South Greene found the first separation at 7-3 after Tarlton landed a pair of aces and Ryleigh Gregg scored on a tip. Errors from West Greene followed and South Greene’s lead grew to 10-4.

Hill got the Lady Buffs going at the net with a tip and two kills that tied things at 11-11. Tarlton answered with a block and a kill to put South Greene back on top 16-11.

West Greene fought back with strong back line play and they tied things at 18-18 when Chloe Brown sent over a serve that South Greene could not return.

Peters snuck over a backhanded tip to give the Lady Buffaloes their first lead. The Lady Buffs’ biggest lead came at 22-18, but the South Greene closed the night on a 5-1 run.

Reaves landed an ace on the right boundary to tie things at 23-23. The night ended on somber note with Gregg finishing things with a kill from the left side, but on her landing she collapsed with a knee injury.

Thursday’s action started with West Greene beating Hancock County 3-0 ( 25-20, 25-11, 25-14). In the other semifinal South Greene beat North Greene 3-0 (25-19, 25-10, 25-22).