State Quarterfinals vs Siegel
Coming off up and down District, Regional and Sectional tournaments, what team was going to show up at Blackman HS for the State Tournament. Well, it was by far, nothing but the best the Spartans had to offer. The girls took on the Siegel Stars and sent a message to their fellow state competitors that they were here to win and win big. They won in straight sets, 25-20, 25-18, 25-5. Summit was led in Kills by Maggie Kalisz (12) and Skyler Lambert (11). Skyler also led the team in Blocks and Aces. Mandy Shanahan had 31 assists while digging out 11 balls. Bella Lambert had 17 digs.
State Semifinals vs Science Hill
Less than 24 hours later, the girls found themselves back a Blackman HS for the semis against a team that just swept Clarksville the day before. Science Hill came in looking the part of a state contender. The girls jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead and the nearly 300 students in attendance let everyone know they were there to back this team. With every Spartans Kill, the crowd became louder and louder. The Hilltoppers definately felt they were on the road for this one. The girls took the first two sets easily, 25-18, 25-16. Science Hill did not go away. In fact they came out in set three with a determination to fight back. They were up at one point 18-12. That is when the Spartans said enough was enough. Just a few points later, the Hilltoppers were taking a timeout as the Spartans found themselves down only 20-18. Four straight points later, Science Hill needed another timeout as the Spartans took the lead 22-20. After a few back and forth points, the Spartans closed it out on a perfectly placed ball by Mandy Shanahan to the back corner and Summit won the set 27-25.
State Championship vs Brentwood
Two of the states top teams clashed for the 5th time this season. The MaxPreps rankings had Brentwood as the #1 team in the state, with Summit listed as #3 in the state. These two teams split their season series. In league play, Brentwood won the first match 3-1. Summit won in the second half of league play, 3-2. They met once again in the District Tournament Championship, where Summit annihilated the Bruins in straight sets. Finally, they met in the Regional Championship, where Brentwood turned the table and swept the Spartans.
The State Championship was played at MTSU's Murphy Center and both teams supporters showed up and showed out for this one. It was the Spartans who took set one and quieted down the Bruins faithful. After a hard fought set two, the Bruins evened up the match, 1-1. Brentwood took advantage of a few miscues and won set three handlely. Just like the season series went back and forth, so too did set four, going to the Spartans. This set up an EPIC final set that was won by the Spartans. The final scores were 25-23, 26-28, 19-25, 25-21, 15-13. For a complete run down of every point and all of the stats, click the link below for the game report.
