Sprayberry’s Devin Judge, tries to beat two defenders on an attack Thursday at Sandy Creek in the first round of the Class AAAA state tournament in Tyrone.
Staff photo by Chris Manley
10-16-2009 Sprayberry beaten in first round match at reigning state champion By William Bretherton Marietta Daily Journal Sports Writer
TYRONE – The Sprayberry Yellow Jackets team reward for finishing third in Area 7AAAA? A road trip to face the defending state champion, Sandy Creek, in the opening round of the Class AAAA state playoffs. The Lady Yellow Jackets couldn’t pull the upset, falling in three straight games (19-25, 16-25 and 22-25). “Yeah that was a little unlucky for us, having to travel down to the defending state champions in the first round,” Sprayberry coach Mary-Kay Bateman said. With the season ending loss, Sprayberry’s record fell to 33-14, while Sandy Creek advanced to the second round to host Glynn Academy, which beat Alatoona in three games Thursday in Brunswick. “I’m just excited to have gotten past Sprayberry, because they have a pretty good team,” Sandy Creek coach Paul Collins said of the Lady Yellow Jackets, who reached the state semi-finals in 2008. Though Sprayberry did not win a game, it competed closely with Sandy Creek throughout the match. In the first game, the Yellow Jackets started off well by taking an 8-6 lead before the Lady Patriots went on a 7-1 run to give themselves a 13-9 lead. At the end of the match Sandy Creek finished Sprayberry off with a 7-1 run. The Lady Patriots dominated the second game and appeared to the similar control in the third game. Sandy Creek was able to move the ball around on its side of the floor with passing, sets and kills going in their favor. With a 9-2 lead, the Lady Patriots were on its way to victory, though Sprayberry showed resiliency through the rest of the match. “We got off the bus early, and hung in there with the first game,” Bateman said. “Then, in the second game, we were a little overwhelmed.” The Lady Yellow Jackets started a 5-0 run of their own that was led by two kills from junior middle hitter Katie Gilstrap. After a Sandy Creek timeout, the Lady Jackets continued to bouncy back shot after shot until the score grew to 18-17 in Sandy Creek’s favor. Channel Smith and Kala Jones did most of the damage for Sandy Creek. Jones finished with 15 kills, four assists and one ace, while Smith finished with 13 assists, 12 kills, one block and one ace. Gilstrap led Sprayberry with 10 kills, and joined Nadia Ogene with a team high 3.5 blocks each, Ogene had 14 assists. Blair Winston was also a key contributor with five kills, 10 digs and one ace. Senior Kelly Chavis finished her career with 13 digs, two kills and one ace in her final match. |
