Sports
Ace Nation: Tornadoes spin the Tomcats in three-set showdown
By: Carly Traut
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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WOUB) — Tuesday night held high stakes as the Southern Tornadoes defeated the Trimble Tomcats in the second round of Division VII tournament play. The Lady Tornadoes dominated with a three-set shutout, advancing to the third round of tournament play.
The Tornadoes began the first set with a cyclone of fury, launching into a four-point run that forced the Tomcats to call their first timeout. After regrouping, the Tomcats returned with a four-point run of their own, tying the score at four all. The two teams continued trading points back and forth throughout the set until the Tornadoes gained too much momentum for the Tomcats to handle. With multiple kills at the net from middle hitter Timberlyn Templeton, defensive specialist Kiersten Rose, and freshman Ali Norris, the Tornadoes were unstoppable, taking the set 25 to 13.
The Tornadoes continued this windstorm in the second set. Starting with the ball, Southern quickly took the lead, thanks to middle hitter Hayden Turner, who had two kills. Trimble called another timeout in hopes of regrouping and gaining momentum, with the score at seven to one in favor of the Tornadoes. The Tomcats returned with their claws out, going on a four-point run that forced Southern to call their first timeout. But with three kills each from Trimble’s outside hitter Brooklyn Burdette and setter Rilynn Fouts, the Tomcats clawed their way back into the competition, tying the score at 24 all. The Tomcats’ resurgence caused the Tornadoes to panic, leading to a loss of focus and communication. However, after being pushed into extra points, Southern managed to regain their groove and shut out Trimble, taking the set 26 to 24.
Going into the third set, the Tomcats were ready to pounce. Desperate to take a set and halt the Tornadoes’ momentum, Rose led with a five-point serve run, while Ali Norris and Marlo Norris were on fire with their blocking at the net, prompting the Tornadoes to call a timeout. After regrouping, Tornado setter Jaylynn Hupp went on a four-point serve run, including three consecutive aces, tying the score at eight all. With both teams neck and neck, it was anyones game. Despite the Tomcats’ hard-fought comeback in the previous two sets, they were unable to stop the Tornadoes’ resilience. Southern ultimately took the set 25 to 22, sweeping the match in three sets.
Although the Tomcats did not end the season as they had hoped, head coach Brandi Freer shared her perspective.
“We have an extremely young team. We graduated nine seniors last year, so we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores on our roster, and they are still learning.”
Trimble completed their season with an overall record of six and seventeen. Southern will continue their tournament play as they enter the district finals.