Photo: Northpoint Christian players accept the TSSAA Division II-A championship trophy. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
Oct. 24, 2024 – In a game of such importance as Thursday’s TSSAA Division II-A state championship volleyball match, if Northpoint Christian had been able to pick the opponent, the Lady Trojans made no secret they would most definitely have selected Battle Ground Academy.
That’s the team Northpoint faced at Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro, Tenn. and defeated in three sets for the school’s first state volleyball championship Thursday afternoon. Set scores were 25-22, 25-21, and 25-19.
The selection of the Franklin, Tenn.-based Battle Ground Academy, or BGA, was not because they would have been an easy out. The Wildcats swept Northpoint in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday and on Wednesday did the same to Goodpasture Christian School to reach the final match for the title.
The desire to play the Wildcats was more due to how the Lady Trojans did not play when the Wildcats sent Northpoint to the loser’s bracket on Tuesday. Some unfinished business needed to be taken care of.
“It wasn’t anything about BGA, but it was about the way we played,” said Northpoint coach Kim Robinson. “We knew that serving had to be number one and Tuesday we came out of the first set and our serving was not clicking. We knew that if we got BGA again, number one, passing and serving, and we were going to hit with a purpose.”
Quinn Thurman said the key to Thursday was more on the defensive side of play than on the attack.
“They’re a good defensive team but we can beat them all day on offense, so we said, ‘let’s go beat them on defense,’” Thurman said. “If we can match them on defense, we can beat them on offense all day.”
“We played really bad in the first game and just the feeling of them coming in and beating us in three was just kind of aggravating to us,” added twin sister Hassie Clare Thurman. “It made us more excited and energetic for today.”
Robinson pointed out that serve receive, serving and blocking won the match for Northpoint.
For the match, Quinn Thurman made 12 kills, served three aces and made 11 digs. Hassie Clare Thurman contributed 16 digs and served three aces.
Chrissy Nolan made eight kills and Sarah Johnson added 27 assists and served four aces. Val Hurdle finished with five kills and a pair of ace serves. Kylee Reynolds made six kills and one block.
The first set saw nine ties and five lead changes. The number of lead changes was reduced to three in the second set as the Lady Trojans began to take more control of the match. Northpoint led throughout the final set with the exception of two times when it was tied. BGA never held a lead in the final set of the match.
Quinn Thurman was named Most Valuable Player
Quinn Thurman was named finals Most Valuable Player, but gave much of the credit to her teammates.
“I definitely couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” she said. “I know that’s cliche to say, but it truly is. You can’t play volleyball by yourself. It’s not an individual sport, so all gratitude to them.”
“Quinn is a leader and she has been leading our team since day one,” added Robinson. “The fire that Quinn has for volleyball and her teammates is amazing.”
The Lady Trojans, with a record of 41-6, now take the Tennessee Division II-A state championship trophy and bring it home to Mississippi.
“It’s definitely the perfect ending to our season,” Quinn Thurman said. “We all wanted it, so, so bad, but we knew what we had to do to get there, and we did.”
Thursday’s TSSAA Division II-A championship by Northpoint completes a trifecta of state championship victories by DeSoto County volleyball teams.
Just one week before, Lake Cormorant won its third state championship in a row, and second straight in MHSAA 6A, followed by Lewisburg winning its second straight MHSAA 7A state title.
That means the county now holds three championship trophies from two different states, since Northpoint competes in the Tennessee association.
The Lady Trojans faced both Lake Cormorant and Lewisburg during the regular season and swept both teams. Northpoint also took two straight from DeSoto Central during a regular season tournament.
“We have a lot of amazing talent in DeSoto County and being able to play them throughout the year only makes all of us better,” Robinson said. “I’m really proud of all three of our (state championship) teams.”
