Desoto County Sports

Lady Trojans advance to volleyball Final Four

Northpoint Christian’s volleyball team has reached the Final Four of the TSSAA Division II-A state volleyball playoffs after a three-set state quarterfinal victory over Knoxville Grace Saturday afternoon at Northpoint. 

Set scores were 25-14, 25-12 and 25-15.  

The Lady Trojans (25-4) now join Battle Ground Academy of Franklin, Notre Dame of Chattanooga, and Concord Christian of Knoxville, starting Tuesday, to determine a state champion.  Pairings were not immediately available late Saturday, but the four teams will be seeded to determine the semi-final pairings.  

The semi-finals and finals are played at Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro. 

Northpoint took a 5-4 lead in the first set and a service run from Maycee Gross grew the lead to 8-4. A service ace from Quinn Thurman increased the margin to 12-5 and two more points forced a Knoxville Grace timeout. A kill from Brylee Faith Cherry put Northpoint in striking range of the first set at 20-11, followed by a Quinn Thurman ace and a point from Isis Reid off a Grace block finished the set at 25-14.  

Grace came out strong in the second set with a 5-1 lead but just as quickly Northpoint came back and got within 6-5. From there, five straight Lady Trojan points grew the margin to 10-6.  

A service ace from Quinn Thurman gave Northpoint a 14-8 lead and four of the next five points fashioned an 18-9 edge and a timeout from the Lady Rams.  Cherry came out of the timeout with a kill to give the Lady Trojans a 20-10 lead. Northpoint went on from there to a 25-12 set win.  

In the third set, Northpoint took a 4-0 lead when Quinn Thurman served an ace, but Grace recovered to get within 8-5 when a Northpoint volley went long. But when Quinn Thurman dropped a shot over the net for a point, the Lady Trojans had a 10-5 lead.  

Northpoint took a 15-8 lead when a Lady Rams volley found the net and no further and when the lead became 18-10, Grace took a timeout hoping to get something together. 

Cherry added a kill, Addie Kate O’Bar served an ace and when a Grace volley was struck into the net, the match was over with the 25-15 third-set victory.  

For the match, Cherry had nine kills and six blocks, Quinn Thurman served four aces, and Sophie Bauer recorded 35 assists.  Sailor Cole added 17 digs. 

Bob Bakken

Bob Bakken is the most recognized and most trusted name in DeSoto County news and sports reporting, as readers continue to express their appreciation for his accuracy and fairness in the stories he writes. Bob is also heard on 95.3 The Rebel twice a week with sports updates and high school football play-by-play broadcasts in the fall. A former newspaper editor and writer, his award-winning background also includes television news producing, sports media relations, and radio broadcasting.

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