WCHS shines in Tree City Invitational
Senior Ali Young continues to be rock solid while patrolling the back line for the Lady Pioneers.
Charlie Dalton Gym was supposed to be hosting a preseason volleyball playday Saturday. Instead, it looked and sounded much more like the regular season.
Fans packed the stands for the Tree City Playday as six area programs spent the day battling across two courts, creating an atmosphere that served as another reminder of how much volleyball has grown in Warren County. The biggest crowd gathered when Warren County and Coffee County met, with the longtime rivals delivering two entertaining sets that featured long rallies, diving saves and plenty of emotion from both sides.
"It definitely makes me smile seeing what we're doing today," Warren County coach Erin Blalock said afterward. "We've got good competitive volleyball in the gym all day long. It just shows that the sport is growing - It's growing in our area and it's growing in our community."
The Lady Pioneers gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about.
After struggling to find a rhythm in an early 8 a.m. matchup with Cascade, Warren County settled in and finished the day 2-1-1 in varsity action. The Lady Pioneers swept both Tullahoma and Franklin County before splitting two tightly contested sets with Coffee County, falling 25-23 before rallying for a 28-26 victory.
The matchup with the Lady Raiders quickly became one of the day's highlights.
Neither team was willing to concede a point easily as thunderous swings were met by diving digs, quick reactions at the net and players chasing balls well beyond the court boundaries. Nearly every rally seemed to end with both benches on their feet.
For Blalock, those are exactly the situations her team needs before the regular season begins.
"We're seeing resiliency for sure," said Blalock. "We're seeing them already really working to finish close games. There have been some super long volleys today, which is very encouraging. They're keeping the ball up and they want it.
“t's always a close match with Coffee County. We could have laid down after that first set, but the girls came back. I'm glad we got that second set."
Saturday also offered an encouraging look at a Warren County team that believes it can build on last year's 16-10 campaign.
Sophomores Reese Reinitz and Maelee Turner continued to grow into the setter roles, while Arizona transfer Elliana Heintz showed why the coaching staff believes she can become an immediate contributor.
Up front, Warren County's length stood out throughout the day as Natalie Payne and Caroline Boyd controlled the middle, Sloan Youngblood attacked from multiple spots along the net and veterans Aubrey Oleksik and Brynlee Chisam continued filling a variety of roles within the rotation.
Even when tested by big hitters, including a 6-foot-3 girl from Franklin County, the Lady Pioneers were ready to challenge and win the war at the net all day.
"This is the way you get better," Blalock said. "We've got to learn how to play close matches because that's what we're going to see when we get to district tournament time. Playing competitive volleyball helps us make the adjustments we need."
The Lady Pioneers will get another chance to test themselves next weekend at the Attack at the Rock Playday in Gatlinburg before opening the regular season.
