County Volleyball Squads Start Tournament Play

10/30/08
By Clint Cox

It’s district tournament time for the county’s varsity volleyball squads. Two of the county’s varsity volleyball teams were in action this past Tuesday night as the FHSAA District Tournaments got under way. Marianna earned the #1 seed in their district tournament, which is being played in Bonifay. As the #1 seed the Lady Bulldogs automatically advance to the Championship game on Thursday night. They will take on the winner of Tuesday night’s contest between Chipley and Holmes County.
Two of the county’s squads were in action this past Tuesday night at "The Hive." Cottondale took on Blountstown and the Lady Hornets fell 3-1 to the Lady Tigers and thus were eliminated from tournament play. After dropping game one to Blountstown, Cottondale battled back to get a 25-21 win in game two. Cottondale held a slim lead in the early going but Blountstown tied the game at 16-16. With Jessica Haid serving, the Lady Hornets reeled off 6 unanswered points to take a 22-16 lead. From there they went on to the 4 point victory. Game three saw Cottondale take a 6-1 lead but they could not hold on and Blountstown used a 9 point run to win the game 25-18. Game four was tied at 5-5 when Blountstown began to pull away. Cottondale battled back to pull within 3 points at 14-11. From there though the Lady Tigers outscored Cottondale 11-3 to claim a 25-14 win. Cottondale finished the season with a record of 15-8 and Head Coach Cassie Whiddon, though disappointed, remained upbeat. "We had a successful season. We fell apart a little towards the end of the season but we lose 3 seniors so most of the squad will return next year," commented Whiddon.
The Sneads Lady Pirates took on Altha in the other semi-final game. Sneads fell behind early in game one but rallied to tie the game at 10-10. From there they outscored the Lady Wildcats 15-1 to capture a 25-11 win. Game Two saw the Lady Pirates jump out to a 9-4 lead before Altha fought back. The Lady Wildcats rallied to tie the game at 10-10 and then pulled out to a 13-11 lead. Altha then reeled off 6 straight points to take a 19-13 lead. Sneads finally caught fire again and began their comeback on a kill from Meagan Smith. With Allison McDaniel serving the Lady Pirates scored 6 straight points to tie the game at 19-19. The teams traded points back and forth and were tied at 23-23. Mattie Collins served out the last two points for Sneads to claim a 25-23 win. Game three was all Sneads as they jumped out to a 10-7 lead. They went on to win by a score of 25-16 and advance to the championship game on Thursday night against Blountstown. The Lady Pirates improved to 17-9.