Christiana Middle School Crowned Volleyball Champs

Oct 01, 2017 at 10:01 am by bryan


This past Thursday was the end of an era for Rutherford County volleyball. The Christiana Middle School Cougars defeated the Siegel Lady Cavaliers in an exciting three sets, 25-23 and 26-24, and 15-11, at the Rock Springs Middle School gymnasium in Smyrna. The loss ended Siegel's seven-year reign as Rutherford County Middle School Athletic Association tournament champions.

The tournament final was a highly anticipated rematch. Just two weeks earlier Siegel handed Christiana its only loss of the season to earn an eighth straight regular season championship. Christiana returned the favor Thursday to take its first tournament crown.

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The first set was a see-saw battle. Siegel led 23-22 when Christiana's Cassidy Couch served three aces to win the set. In the second set, Siegel faced elimination 24-20. The Lady Cavaliers' turned to Maci Smotherman who delivered a kill and two aces. Siegel scored six straight points to win 26-24.

After knotting the score at 10, Christiana's strong offense took over for a 15-11 victory. Christiana was paced on defense by Couch (52 digs, 6 aces), Garen Haney (4 blocks, 2 kills), and Emily Ann Thomas (16 digs, 4 kills, 3 aces). The Cougar offense was led by Sarah Emmons (15 assists, 15 digs, 4 kills, 3 aces) and Indya Wilkerson (7 kills, 1 block). Siegel's Brooke Gilleland led all hitters with 8 kills.

"We set a goal back in June that we wanted to make history this season," said Christiana coach Mollie Beasley. "I knew from the beginning I had the team to do just that."

"The girls know it's tough to play a strong team like Siegel, and the program's reputation can definitely make them more intimidating. They had to believe they could do it."

Coach Beasley is in her second year at Christiana after coaching the high school volleyball team at Middle Tennessee Christian School. Danielle Tyus is assistant coach.

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