The fans who packed into a crowded South Greene gymnasium on Thursday were treated to a night of thrilling volleyball action, and just like the 17 years prior the Lady Rebels walked away as district champions.
In Thursday’s District 1-A Championship Game South Greene topped West Greene 3-1, 25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 25-10 to claim its 18th consecutive league title.
“I’m super proud of my girls,” South Greene coach Stephen Gregg said. “I tried to not put a lot of pressure on this game, but there were some nerves. That just shows that they care a lot about this sport and this team. I’m proud the tradition keep rolling along. This is my 17th year and my 17th district championship. I don’t take it lightly, each one of these is special.”
Both teams move on to the Region 1-A Tournament which will be played next week at Cosby. West Greene will play District 2-A champion Cosby in one semifinal, and South Greene will play Hancock County in the other semifinal.
“This is just one box checked in what we are trying to accomplish. Now we’re getting to crunch time and the time of year where its fun. From here on out every game, every set, every point means something,” Gregg said.
Despite South Greene sweeping West Greene in the regular season the Lady Buffaloes came out of the gate hot and took the first lead at 4-1. After Kahlie Edwards and Morgan Moody landed a pair of kills that lead grew to 8-4.
South Greene responded with Kinley McCaslin finding her groove at the net, and after she landed three kills from the left side the senior tipped one to the soft spot in the defense to even the score at 10-10.
South Greene took the lead for the first time 14-13 when Emma Padgett pushed a ball to the deep corner.
The Lady Rebels never looked back after that. Padgett slammed two more from the left side and then put one down from the back row. McCaslin finished the 25-20 win with a kill.
McCaslin was named Tournament MVP on Thursday as she led South Greene from both the front row and the back row.
“Kinley is great player who comes to work every day,” Gregg said. “She pushes the other girls and wants to be first in everything we do. I wish I could have had her three more years. I’ve really enjoyed this season with her. She’s a well-rounded player. She leads us in digs and was number two in hitting. She has a consistent serve. That award was well deserved.”
In the second set South Greene moved in front first at 5-2 behind three kills from Padgett.
West Greene was able to tie things at 12-12 on a slam from Carleigh Williams. The Lady Buffaloes’ defense then began to make things tougher on the Lady Rebels’ hitters with Emma Gray, Madi Evans and Katelyn Begines keeping those big swings from landing.
Three missed kills by South Greene put West Greene in front and after Aleea Aiken and Deborah Julian combined for a block the Lady Buffaloes led 18-12.
From there West Greene stayed in front with Edwards finishing off the 25-18 win with a slam from the left side.
South Greene regrouped in the third set and found ways to beat West Greene’s defense to stay in control throughout. That started with Padgett scoring on a tip and McCaslin pushing one to the back line from the back row.
Jaelyn Fillers got active up front with a pair of right-side blocks and then Padgett scored on a pair of aces to make it 12-4.
West Greene was able to close the gap to 16-13 after Williams and Journey Lamons took big swings.
Too many errors by West Greene in the late stages kept South Greene in front and McCaslin finished the 25-18 win with a kill from the left side.
After moving in front 2-1 in the third set South Greene was in complete control in the fourth set.
The Lady Rebels found their first breathing room at 8-5 on a block by Haylee Bird, and then Bird came up with a kill from the middle for an 11-6 lead.
McCaslin killed one from the left side to make it 13-7 and then she went to the service line for eight straight points. In that stretch Padgett was dominant from the left post as the punished four kills as the lead reached 21-7.
Bird got another kill for South Greene and Padgett slammed three more as the Lady Rebels closed the night with a 25-10 win.
“We kept telling the girls West Greene isn’t going to lay down,” Gregg said. “They are scrappy. They have had a lot of success in middle school and they know how to win. We just had to control what we could control. We had times where our swings got a little wild. But West Greene is a formidable opponent and I think we’ll see them again.”
WEST GREENE 3, NORTH GREENE 2
West Greene started the night by winning a five-set battle with North Greene that kept its season going.
In the district semifinals the Lady Buffaloes won 3-2, 17-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 15-6.
The loss brought an end to North Greene’s season, and the win guaranteed West Greene a spot in the region tournament.
North Greene gained the first advantage of the evening at 8-3. That came after Cadie McDevitt crushed a ball from the middle and Kinlea Eastep slammed two from the left side.
North Greene continued to push the lead and after three kills from Josie Graham the Lady Huskies held a 17-7 advantage.
Lamons answered with three kills for West Greene, but the Lady Huskies stayed in front for a 25-17 win.
North Greene held the early advantage in the second set but a kill by Williams tied things at 11-11. Aiken then had a stretch where she scored on a tip and two blocks as West Greene went in front 20-12.
Lamons added two more kills as West Greene evened things at 1-1 with a 25-16 win.
West Greene kept the lead in the third set until an ace by North Greene’s Graham tied things at 18-18.
The set was tied four more times before Graham and Tralyn Southerland closed things with a pair of kills and a 25-23 win.
North Greene looked like it might finish things in the fourth set when Southerland slammed one from the middle and Graham followed it with tip to make it 14-7.
West Greene kept fighting and a hot streak from Lamons that included three kills from the middle flipped the lead to 20-18.
The teams trade points to the finish and West Greene’s Julian finished out the 25-23 win with a slam.
West Greene took control of the fifth set early with Lamons scoring on a kill and two tips for a 4-2 lead.
Four errors by the Lady Huskies allowed that lead to grow to 10-4. West Greene finished the 15-6 win with an ace from Lamons and kills from Aiken and Williams.
All-District 1-A
Emma Visser, Happy Valley
Macy Kendall, Happy Valley
Mia Kendall, Happy Valley
Emma Hodge, Hampton
Kiera McKinney, Hampton
Summer Elliot, Hampton
Journey Lamons, West Greene
Aleea Aiken, West Greene
Carleigh Williams, West Greene
Emma Gray, West Greene
Addi Dean, North Greene
Josie Graham, North Greene
Chloe Keys, North Greene
Cadie McDevitt, North Greene
Haylee Bird, South Greene
Jaelyn Fillers, South Greene
Ava Brobeck, South Greene
Ella Bailey, South Greene
Emma Padgett, South Greene
Kinley McCaslin, South Greene
Underclassmen of the Year: Emma Hodge, Hampton
Defensive Player of the Year: Emma Visser, Happy Valley
Server of the Year: Chloe Keys, North Greene
Setter of the Year: Aleea Aiken, West Greene
Blocker of the Year: Journey Lamons, West Greene
Hitter of the Year: Emma Padgett, South Greene
Player of the Year: Kinley McCaslin, South Greene
Coach of the Year: Raven Borie, Wets Grenee
District 1-A All Tournament
Emma Hodge, Hampton
Addi Dean, North Greene
Josie Graham, North Greene
Journey Lammons, West Greene
Aleea Aiken, West Greene
Emma Gray, West Greene
Emma Padgett, South Greene
Haylee Bird, South Greene
Jaelyn Fillers, South Greene
Ella Bailey, South Greene
MVP: Kinley McCaslin, South Greene
