UPDATED: Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton advance to volleyball sectional final

Linton-Stockton Libero Savannah Mason had 23 digs as the Lady Miners defeated South Knox in the volleyball sectional semifinals at Glover Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. (By B.J. Hargis/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

The Lady Miners knocked off defending sectional champion South Knox 25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 18-25, 15-11 in the first semifinal at Glover Gymnasium in Bloomfield.

Eastern Greene topped the host Lady Cardinals 25-17, 25-8, 25-11 to make the finale.

Linton-Stockton Libero Savannah Mason had 23 digs as the Lady Miners defeated South Knox in the volleyball sectional semifinals at Glover Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. (By B.J. Hargis/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

"I was really proud of the way the girls came out in the morning match and fought for the win. They had the determination and fire more so than any other time this season," said Linton-Stockton coach Jill Fougerousse, whose Lady Miners avenged a loss to the Lady Spartans in the championship match last season. "We came out and won the first two sets and had the third set in our sights but just came up short.

"I could see in the fourth and fifth sets that some of our girls lost a little of their jumping and began tiring. We knew this might be a factor because of several of them battling lingering illnesses. But the girls really battled back in the final set and showed a lot of heart."

Led by Linton-Stockton coach Jill Fougerousse (third from left), the Lady Miner volleyball team celebrates a semifinal win over South Knox Saturday at the Class 2A Bloomfield Sectional. (By B.J. Hargis/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

Fougerousse commended the performance of the back row.

"Our back-row defense did a great job reading their hitters and moving to the ball. I changed our serve receive and put our highest percentage passers in the path of the serve and I think that really paid off," said Fougerousse. "Sam (Butt), Savannah (Mason), Courtney (Barnes) and Hali (Murray) did a great job of getting the ball to Bradlea (Beard).

Eastern Greene won its 29th match of the season, beating the Lady Cardinals for the second time this year.

"This girls came out really focused and ready to play," said Eastern Greene coach Gina Ingram. "I was really proud of the girls and the way they took care of business."

Bloomfield coach Susie Schulte, whose Lady Cardinals finished 9-21, said they played well in game one, but then the enthusiasm just left.

"You could see it leave," said Schulte. "Eastern Greene is a very consistent team and you can't make mistakes or give up free points to them like we did."

Bloomfield Sectional Semifinals

Saturday

Linton-Stockton vs. South Knox

Darien Huffman -- 15 of 16 serving.

Savannah Mason -- 23 digs, two kills, 15 of 15 serving.

Courtney Barnes -- 16 kills, 10 digs, 18 of 19 serving.

Hali Murray -- five digs, nine kills, 14 of 15 serving.

Samantha Butt -- 14 digs, 14 kills, 22 of 24 serving.

Bradlea Beard -- 11 digs, 43 assists, two kills, 10 of 12 serving.

Kelsey Andis -- 14 digs.

Sydney Lehman -- one dig, four kills, one block.

Jannae Jackson -- five kills, one dig.

Ashley Cooper -- 5 of 7 serving.

Eastern Greene vs. Bloomfield

Casey Divine -- four points, one block, nine kills, eight digs.

Brittany Igel -- seven points, five aces, four kills, one dig.

Leanna Bailey -- five points.

Scottie Ingram -- 12 points, one ace, 15 kills, 10 digs, one block.

Whitney Richardson -- 15 points, two aces, two kills, six digs.

Rikki McCann -- three points, one ace, five digs, one kill, one block 29 assists.

Chelsey Bailey -- six digs.

Samantha Reed -- one point, two assists.

Brooke Butler -- two points, one ace.

Bloomfield vs. Eastern Greene

Kendra Spelts -- 7 of 8 serving, two points, 11 assists.

Carina Rosalez -- one assist, three digs.

Elyse Weddle -- one dig, one block, six kills.

Sarah Scott -- three kills, 3 of 4 serving, one point, one ace.

Ariel Fuller -- 2 of 2 serving, one dig.

Hallie Retseck -- 4 of 4 serving, seven digs.

Letitia Poe -- one kill.

Taylor Gilmore -- two kills, 1 of 1 serving.

Shelby Gott -- 9 of 9 serving, six points, three digs.

Holly Zschiedrich -- 6 of 6 serving, four points.