Regional Volleyball

The Whitley County Lady Colonels advanced to the semifinals of the 13th Region Volleyball Tournament at Clay County Monday night with a 25-20, 25-11 win over the Cumberland Lady Redskins.
Cumberland came into the tournament champions of the 50th district with a 11-6 record while the Lady Colonels were district runners-up to Corbin in the 49th District.
“I was very surprised how strong we came out,” said Whitley County Coach Derrick Lowrie. “Nobody was more surprised than I was.”
The Lady Colonels scored off a Cumberland turnover followed by five straight points by sophomore Korrie Richardson as Whitley County took a 6-0 lead. The Lady Colonels extended the lead to 8-1 before Cumberland bounced back with a 10-2 run of their own.
Cumberland moved ahead 11-10 before a Stephanie McCullah slam tied the score at 11-11.
McCullah followed with a serve for a one point lead (12-11) but Cumberland ran off a 9-5 spree and led 20-16 before Lowrie called a timeout. The time-out helped as Cumberland hit the ball out of bounds for a Whitley County rally point.
Senior Brittany Fox went to the line and served nine straight points as the Lady Colonels took the five-point win. Fox had three aces in the run and junior Brittany Dotson had two kills.
“We had a mental letdown and continued to watch balls hit between two girls and two girls going after the same ball,” said Lowrie. “But, they stuck with it and finished the first game off.”
The second game saw Whitley County jump out to a 11-2 lead. They never trailed in the contest and won easily 25-11. Fox, again was instrumental in leading her team to the win. Her brutal serve allowed Whitley County to score eight straight points, leading the Lady Colonels to the 11-2 score.
Cumberland could never get a string of points together and mount a rally.
“It was one of our best matches of the season,” said Lowrie. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. We have struggled this year, if it’s time for us to pull it together this is the best place to do it.”
Lowrie said of Fox. “She has been on a roll since the district. “She is hitting the ball really strong and is serving the ball strong.”
“I feel like I need to step up since I am a senior and the captain,” said Fox. “I don’t want to give up that last game yet.”
“I knew we could beat Cumberland, it was just a matter whether we would or not,” said Fox.
Whitley County will play Clay County (16-10) in the first game Wednesday night. The two teams met back on September 21 with the Lady Tigers winning 25-19, 25-18.
Corbin was scheduled to play in the first-round Tuesday night against Middlesboro (19-4). The teams met at Corbin earlier in the season with the Lady Redhounds taking an easy win. Should Corbin (23-7) win they would likely meet tournament favorite, Rockcastle County in the second semifinal at 7:30. The championship is also scheduled for tonight at 8:30.