MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Baylor's Lady Red Raiders weren't at full strength Friday in the TSSAA Division II-AA volleyball state-championship match. But perhaps in spirit, they were.
The Lady Raiders lost season-long kills leader Gabby Gray to an ankle injury in Thursday's victory over Harpeth Hall at Blackman High that vaulted them into the final at Middle Tennessee State. They battled with what they had, but Briarcrest Christian proved to be too much and defeated Baylor 3-0. Set scores were 25-18, 25-17, 25-23.
"We're always going to put up a fight," Baylor coach Sarah Lail said.
Briarcrest (46-3) never trailed in the first set, although it was tied at 5 and Baylor was within 16-15 before the Saints pulled away. They took control earlier in the second set, stretching a 7-6 lead to 11-6 and maintaining at least a four-point edge the rest of the way.
Baylor (45-4) scored the first five points of the third set and led until Briarcrest caught up at 16. The Saints' first lead was 21-20. The Lady Raiders' last lead was 23-22.
"Give it to Briarcrest," Lail said. "That was a quality team on the other side. We fought as hard as we could. It just didn't go our way today."
The teams, both ranked nationally in MaxPreps' Top 50, met for the first time Thursday in the winners-bracket final with the Saints prevailing 3-1.
Gray led the Lady Raiders with 18 kills in that match. She was also chosen most valuable player of the title match when Baylor won the tournament in 2014.
"We knew that was going to hurt them," Briarcrest coach Carla Anderton said of Gray's abscence. "Gabby is a great player, but we pretty much focused on what we were doing, trying to get them to execute. We made a few blocking adjustments."
Kendal Strand, a Samford commitment, was chosen MVP this year after providing 14 kills and 15 digs for Briarcrest. Alyiah Wells, who has committed to Alabama, led the Saints in kills with 19.
Lindi Perkins had eight kills and Carsyn Starr, who has accepted a scholarship offer from Mississippi State, had seven. Coach's daughter Callie Anderton led in assists with 44 and is headed to Murray State.
"Our seniors were pretty rock solid," Coach Anderton said.
Gray is Baylor's only player committed to an NCAA Division I scholarship (Western Carolina).
"She's a remarkable player," Lail said. "I would've loved to have had her there on the outside banging away. I sure would've liked to have seen what she could've done in her last show."
Gray did dress out and participate in prematch drills.
"I wanted to warm up with the team one last time," Gray said. "It was worth it."
Ally Craig topped the Lady Raiders with 10 kills, Jane Wilson added eight and Denver Rogers contributed seven. Lilly Turner, who will play next year at Palm Beach Atlantic, led Baylor with 15 digs, and Sarah Sumida led with 28 assists.
"We had to change a lot," Lail said. "We had new players out there. We put in a new defense. We had a lot more things going on. I'm super proud of the way we performed on such short notice.
"We knew everybody was going to have to show up. They have two phenomenal middles on the other side. It was a hard task, but we stood strong and went at them. We scored a lot in the middle because of it."
Said Gray: "They were amazing. I thought we adjusted so well. I'm immensely proud of them. I felt like we did everything we could."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.