Boyd-Buchanan's Sarah Emrey, left, spikes the ball towards Grace Academy's Claire McMasters Thursday at Boyd-Buchanan High School.Any questions concerning whether Boyd-Buchanan would be ready for the rematch of its only District 5-A loss in high school volleyball season were answered after the first point Thursday.
The Lady Buccaneers reeled off seven consecutive afterward and defeated Grace Academy 3-0 at Boyd-Buchanan. Set scores were 25-10, 25-21, 25-23.
"We were ready from the start," Boyd-Buchanan coach Alfie Dodd said. "I didn't sense it. I thought they might be nervous with it being senior night and emotions running high. They can get a little bit down sometimes, but they pulled through."
The victory gives Boyd-Buchanan (26-14, 8-1) sole possession of first place in the district and at least a tie for the regular-season championship. The Lady Bucs can clinch it outright by beating Copper Basin on Tuesday.
Grace Academy (15-13, 7-2) hosted Boyd-Buchanan on Sept. 11 and won 3-0 by set scores of 25-22, 25-22, 25-19. However, the Lady Bucs were without Kristen Reynolds, who had strep throat, and Madison Balthrop, who was playing golf for Boyd-Buchanan that day.
Both are regular contributors, particularly Reynolds, who came into this match first on the team in assists and second in kills and aces. Dodd figured that having those two back made a difference of about six points per game.
"I think the last time we had a rotation we weren't used to," Dodd said. "I think that threw us off, especially with their big hitter."
The Lady Golden Eagles bounced back from the early 7-1 deficit Tuesday with four consecutive points. But the only run they had greater than that all day was their 5-0 start in the third set.
Not so for the Lady Bucs, whose Halie Williamson had all four of her aces in a 10-0 run later in the first set. Katie DeLay had one of her four aces in a 9-0 beginning to the second set.
"We had a slow start, but I felt like we fought back," Grace coach Hillary Waters said. "We let them go on too many runs where a lot of the points were unearned."
Reynolds paced the Lady Bucs with nine kills, followed by Asia Kirkman with eight and Sarah Emrey with seven. DeLay was the leader with 21 digs, and Williamson led in assists with 15.
Alex Smith topped Grace with 12 kills and four blocks and equaled libero Miriam Horne with 27 digs. Senior Krissy Aruca chipped in with 23 digs. Horne led in aces with three, and Lexi Horne led in assists with 22.
"We have come a long way," said Waters, whose team can lock up the district tournament's No. 2 seeding Tuesday by defeating Arts & Sciences. "We are definitely better than we have been in the past four or five years. We're still a young team. We only have one senior."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.