Lady Irish fall just short of state title
Another stellar season for Knoxville Catholic High School’s volleyball team came up just short last Saturday at Briarcrest Christian School.
The Lady Irish fell to the Lady Saints three sets to one in the Division II-AA championship match in the State Tournament in Eads, Tennessee. KCHS won the first set 25-19, then lost 25-21, 25-17, and 25-17.
“Very proud of the grit and determination in each and every one of our girls both on the floor and on the bench,” said Catholic coach Brent Carter.
BCS defeated KCHS last year in five sets, and went on to win state.
To get to the title match, the Lady Irish beat Lipscomb Academy in the semifinal three sets to one, winning the first two 25-19 and 25-18; lost the third 27-25, then closed it out 25-19.
“We played clean, served well and hit for a good number,” said Carter. “We passed really well; we were a handful.”
Some impressive statistics from the Lipscomb match: senior outside hitter Mia Kinney had 16 kills and five assists; setters Channing Hurley
and Olivia Mikels combined for 41 assists.
For the season, Kinney had 305 kills, Hurley 366 assists
Carter was asked to assess his 12th season. His quote came from his players. “Talking to all of our players one on one on the bus ride home, what we heard from every single one of them was what a fun year they had, and how great the culture is. That speaks volumes about the future of our program.”
