Photo: Northpoint’s Val Hurdle and Kylee Reynolds set a block at the net during Monday night’s 3-0 victory over Harding Academy. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
Oct. 7, 2024 – Northpoint Christian’s volleyball team Monday night succeeded in taking the first step toward a return to the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA) Division 2-A state tournament. The 3-0 victory over Harding Academy at Northpoint did not come easy, however, as the Lady Lions scrapped and clawed their way through the contest.
Northpoint coach Kim Robinson expected that from the adversary, a team the Lady Trojans defeated during the regular season 3-0 at Harding.
“Harding came out and they are a scrappy team,” Robinson said. “They never quit and if we think a ball is going to go out of bounds, they’re going to have three teammates over there getting it. We have to play whistle to whistle every time.”
Set scores Monday night for Northpoint were 25-20, 25-12, and 25-16.
Harding took control early with a 7-3 lead in the first that caused Robinson to call a timeout. But coming out of the timeout, Northpoint posted four straight points that included a Quinn Thurman ace to tie the set at 7-7. Later in the set, aHassie Clare Thurman kill put Northpoint ahead 17-13 and forced a Harding timeout. A drop shot by McKenzie Roach made Harding call another stoppage at 20-15 Northpoint and when Kylee Reynolds dropped a kill shot in the Harding court, the Lady Trojans won the first set 25-20.
The second set went Northpoint’s way from the start with a Hassie Clare Thurman helping run out to a 5-1 lead and Etta Cottam serving an ace for an 8-2 edge. Valerie Hurdle served an ace for a 13-7 advantage and Roach’s block at the net made it 19-10. A drop kill from freshman Sarah Johnson added to the lead at 23-11 and Reynolds’ block at the net finished off a 25-12 set win.
In the third set, it was Harding getting off to a 4-1 lead but the Lady Trojans quickly tied the set at 4-4. A series of points increased the Northpoint lead to 10-6. While the Lady Lions cut the margin to 14-11 with a sideout, aces from Hassie Clare Thurman and Cottam built the lead back to 20-13 and caused Harding to call time.
Hurdle served an ace for a 22-14 lead and Reynolds threw down a kill for a 24-15 edge on the way to a 25-16 set win and match victories.
One area Robinson expects improvement in for Tuesday’s semi-final match at St. George’s is at the service line.
“We missed way too many serves,” Robinson said. “We’ll have to capitalize on that tomorrow and make sure they’re doing what they need to tomorrow. But, I’d rather they serve aggressively than pop balls over and let the other team do what they want to do.”
For the match, Quinn Thurman had 15 kills, 10 digs, and served three aces. Sarah Johnson made 26 assists and served an ace. Hassie Clare Thurman had 18 digs and served two aces, and Kylee Reynolds dropped in seven kills and made two blocks.
With the win, Northpoint has qualified for the Division 2-A substate but two important matches in the West Region tournament remain. The Lady Trojans play Lausanne at 6:30 p.m. after St. George’s will meet University School of Jackson (USJ) at 5 p.m. Winners play for the region championship Thursday at St. George’s in Collierville, Tenn. at 4:30 p.m. after a third-place game at 3 p.m.
The tournament results are important because they help determine seeding for the substate and the region champion gets a bye through to the substate final. The West Region winner also will host the substate final match to earn a spot in the state tournament at Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
JUCO volleyball
Northwest CC 3, Northeast CC 0 (Northwest winning streak now at 16 straight matches.)
