Rachel Travis had to wait a year for revenge, but for the Baylor School senior it was well worth it.
Travis' steady and often dominating hitting was a key part of the Lady Red Raiders' 3-0 win over Father Ryan Saturday in the TSSAA Division II-AA sub-state volleyball match at Baylor. The Irish had eliminated the Lady Raiders in last year's state semifinals, 3-2, and though the two played earlier this year in a narrow Baylor win, Travis missed the rematch.
"I was sick in the hospital the last time, so I'm glad I was back today," said Travis, who led Baylor with 18 kills and added 11 digs. "I was chomping at the bit, for sure. We had them two games to nothing last year and they took the next three, so there was a lot of motivation this week."
Baylor (30-11) had to work hard to pull out the first two games, winning 25-19 and 25-22, then made sure there was no drama by getting out to a big early lead and finishing off the visitors 25-11 in the third game.
Nicole Sumida added 12 kills and a team-high four blocks as Baylor got the best of the hitting matchup with Father Ryan stars Shannon Carr and Maris Kellar.
"It was a team effort," said Baylor coach Sarah Lail, whose team heads to Murfreesboro for the state tournament Wednesday. "Rachel and Nicole were on today, but you can't hit if you don't pass and our passing was really good, as was our defense. We worked hard on studying film and putting in our practices this week what they like to run. We had a good game plan and we really executed it. Knowing what they liked to do gave us a nice edge."
Baylor trailed 12-11 in game one when a Kaitie Sims block triggered a 6-2 run that featured several long rallies and four Father Ryan errors. Down the stretch Travis had two kills, the second putting Baylor up 21-18. Sumida ended the game with a kill off a solid set from Sims.
The visitors held a 10-7 lead in game two before Baylor went on a 12-4 run that included five Travis kills and a strong block of Kellar by Madaline Rose. A Carr kill and a Baylor error closed the Raiders lead to 20-17, but Travis caught a break when her hard hit deflected off the net and landed in. JoJo Schmissrauter followed with a service winner, and five points later Sumida easily blocked a low Carr kill attempt to seal the win.
Game three was never close as Baylor rolled to a 14-5 lead, mainly on a barrage of Father Ryan errors off strong Sumida serves.
Rebecca Schmidt was strong in the middle of the court with 30 assists and 10 digs and at the net with five kills for Baylor, while Katelyn Armstrong added 10 digs.
Ringgold season ends
In the Georgia Class AAA state tournament, Ringgold lost 3-1 at Oconee County to end its season at 29-9. The match scores - 25-22, 25-21, 23-25 and 25-19 - were indicative of the closeness of the match, according to Ringgold coach John Gaston.
"Like it always is in close matches, the difference was somebody executing a little bit better at the end," Gaston said. "The girls got down six, seven points in the first two games and came back to make it a game at the end, where a missed serve or block was the difference. They never quit playing all the way to the end.
"Oconee is a very good team. They hit hard all day long, but our girls dug the ball and blocked it well. These girls are really something special, and it was a pleasure to coach them."
Kendall Williams led the Lady Tigers with 13 kills and added eight digs and two blocks, while Mychala Askew had 23 assists to go with seven kills and 13 digs.