Carly Grant, hits the volleyball Thursday during the Tennessee and Georgia all-star volleyball match at GPS. Tennessee won the match.For the eighth time in as many tries, Tennessee defeated Georgia in the annual high all-star volleyball match at GPS.
The Georgia All-Stars won the first game Thursday, but Tennessee rallied and won 3-1. The game scores were 16-22, 25-17, 25-10, 25-17.
Tennessee led 12-9 in the first game, then Georgia scored eight of the next nine points. Tennessee closed within one on three occasions - the last at 22-21 - before Georgia closed it out.
Tennessee took the lead for good at 4-3 in both the second and fourth games and responded with six consecutive points and led the remainder of the third game after Georgia had taken a 1-0 lead.
Cleveland's Kristen Pickett had 10 kills for the Tennessee team, as well as being its assists leader. She was chosen the match's most valuable player.
"You have to get used to playing with different people," Pickett said. "We only had one practice and that was Tuesday. Once we settled in and got a hold of it, it was good."
Tennessee coach Paul Brock and assistant Amber Nolen, who has resigned her position at Boyd-Buchanan and accepted a coaching position in South Dakota, had their choice of setters but went with Pickett primarily. Signal Mountain's Georgia Paturalski led the Chattanooga area in assists last season, and Baylor's Rebecca Schmidt also was on the squad.
"We let Kristen run it and let Georgia be more of a blocker because she's a little bigger," Brock said. "All three of those girls could've run a great offense."
Chattanooga Christian's Kelsey Lochstampfor led with 15 kills, in addition to serving the first ace of the night, and was selected Tennessee's player of the match. Boyd-Buchanan's Rachel Harper added 14 kills and a match-high three aces. Paturalski totaled eight kills.
Brock said he deferred to the girls on where the sets should go. Brock's niece, Jordan Grant, who played for him at GPS, and Grace Academy's Brooke Calhoun chipped in with three kills each. Grant also had two blocks.
"They're smart enough to figure it out without me," Brock said.
Brock also credited his team's passing as a key to success and praised Walker Valley's Madison Adkins in particular in that area.
Ringgold's Kendall Williams wound up with 12 kills, two blocks and an ace and was chosen Georgia's player of the match. Her high school teammates, Michala Askew and Britany Goldsmith, each added five kills and a block. Ridgeland's Rebecca Terrell and Southeast Whitfield's Shelby McFarland contributed three kills each.
The Tennessee-Georgia soccer doubleheader is Saturday at Finley Stadium, the girls playing at 1 p.m. and the boys at 3. Admission is $5 and also is good for the Chattanooga FC game at 7.