Senior Aubrey Oleksik got her first career win over Cookeville Monday night as the Lady Pioneers rallied past the Lady Cavaliers in five sets.
Even after the Lady Pioneers won back-to-back matchups last week, there was still doubt. What would happen when Cookeville came to town?
After all, the Lady Cavaliers had beaten Warren County every year for the last 14 years. Cookeville was the defending District 7-AAA champion and had already swept the Lady Pioneers once this season. Would anything really be different when the district leaders arrived at Charlie Dalton Gym Monday night looking to complete yet another season sweep?
Warren County provided its answer over five grueling sets. The Lady Pioneers decided their best was good enough to beat anybody, even the best in the district.
WCHS battled back from one-set deficits twice, fought off a Cookeville match point in the fourth and finally finished off the Lady Cavaliers 21-25, 26-24, 15-25, 27-25 and 15-11 for its biggest victory of the season.
“They finally played like they can,” coach Erin Blalock said. “For five sets, and even in the sets we did not win, they were in it and competitive and they never gave up on themselves or each other. The girls deserve all the credit for this huge win.”
The victory was Warren County's third straight, improving the Lady Pioneers to 9-10 overall and bringing them back to .500 in District 7-AAA at 5-5. More importantly, it provided the strongest evidence yet that the team that opened the season 4-2 before stumbling through a difficult stretch may finally be back.
And when Warren County needed somebody to lead the way Monday, the birthday girl delivered.
Natalie Payne celebrated her 17th birthday by repeatedly punishing Cookeville at the net throughout the five-set battle.
“Natalie had their number pretty much all night and played extremely well,” Blalock said. “It was her 17th birthday and I think she had 15 kills. It would have been awesome to get her 17 on her 17th, but I’m glad they went ahead and finished it out.”
Payne's big night was only part of an attack that gave Cookeville problems from several directions. Aubrey Oleksik finished with 10 kills and nine digs, Sloan Youngblood added nine kills and a team-high 13 digs and Ella Wells came off the bench to pound down seven kills. Maelee Turner dished out 21 assists, Reese Reinitz added 20 and Elliana Heintz was a force at the net with five blocks.
Warren County needed nearly every one of those contributions, especially when they got some bad news before the match even began.
In the JV matchup, sophomore Caroline Boyd, often in the varsity rotation as a middle blocker, took a tumble and tweaked her ankle. She was unable to shake off the injury and play in the nightcap, leaving Wells and Heintz to pick up more of the slack. They were ready to fight, just like every Lady Pioneer from the opening whistle.
The opening set was tight deep into the action before Cookeville finally created some separation. The Lady Cavaliers turned a 19-17 advantage into a 24-19 lead, putting Warren County in an early hole. But even in a failed comeback attempt, Warren County showed it wasn’t going to left the Lady Cavaliers have anything easy.
Out of a timeout, Maelee Turner fooled Cookeville on a backset, deciding instead of pushing it to one of her teammates, she’d flip it right over two Cookeville defenders waiting to block and get a point.
Ali Young followed with an ace, giving Warren County some hope before Cookeville got the final point.
The next two sets would bring back some striking similarities to other district matches that wouldn’t go the Lady Pioneers way - a win in the second set, followed by a tough loss in the third. It was the same script that saw Warren County fall to Lebanon and Stewarts Creek at home two weeks ago, but this time the Lady Pioneers weren’t going to let anybody blow out the candles on their night.
Well, unless it was their own birthday girl. Payne was dominant in the opening of the fifth set, while Wells proved to be an unlikely hero with two big points as Warren County closed out a win that felt like 14 years in the making.
“Ella Wells came in and played really well when we had to make adjustments to the lineup. She stepped in and didn't let the pressure get to her,” said Blalock.
And while Payne and Wells were two key players in the win, coach Blalock made sure to pass around the praise, much like how the Lady Pioneers were able to spread the wealth at the net to rally against Cookeville.
“This is an entire team win,” Blalock said. “Every player on the court did their job and every player on the sidelines supported and helped and cheered them on. (It was a) Whole team win and it is incredible to just be a part of it.”
For five sets, Warren County finally looked like the team Blalock has believed was there all along. And after 14 years of watching Cookeville have the final say, the Lady Pioneers finally got to provide the answer themselves.
Warren County is back in action against Smyrna Tuesday at home. Action will begin at 6 p.m.
