Tuesday’s schedule
TSSAA state tournaments, first round(All times Eastern)› Class AAA at Blackman: noon — Brentwood High vs. Cleveland› Class AA at Siegel: 10:30 a.m. — East Hamilton vs. Sullivan South; 3 — Knoxville Catholic vs. Signal Mountain› Class A at MTSU: 1:30 — Knoxville Berean Christian vs. Sale Creek› DII-AA at MTSU: 1:30 — Baylor vs. Father RyanGHSA state tournaments, second round› Class AAAA: 6 — Blessed Trinity at Northwest Whitfield, Heritage at Cartersville› Class AAA: 4 — Sonoraville at Savannah Arts; 6 — Greater Atlanta Christian at Ringgold, Pikeville at Calhoun
Baylor’s high school volleyball team has looked like a big red machine this season, in large part because of its repetitive mechanical setter.
Sarah Sumida is only robotic in a complimentary way. She seemingly makes a bad set about as often as Baylor (39-5) loses.
As a testament to how good the Tennessee Tech-bound athlete is at her craft, not only was a hitter not chosen MVP in the Division II-AA East/Middle Region this year, she ended up being a unanimous pick for that award.
“Every coach in the region had her as their number one player,” Baylor coach Sarah Lail said. “What an honor and what a way to cap out her senior year.”
That senior year isn’t quite over yet. The Lady Red Raiders are one of five Chattanooga-area teams that qualified to compete in this week’s state tournaments in Murfreesboro.
Baylor’s double-elimination opener is at 1:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday against Father Ryan at Middle Tennessee State University. Championships will be decided Thursday at MTSU.
Sumida grew up around the game of volleyball because older sisters Stephanie and Nicole played. She started playing club ball when she was 10, which was also her first encounter having Lail as her coach.
“I don’t know how I became a setter,” Sumida said. “I guess because Sarah Lail just threw me in there.”
How she became a standout setter was through hard work in practice on a regular basis. With her 1,353 assists to date this season, Sumida has become the only player in TSSAA history to top the 5,000 mark in her career.
“She’s a phenomenal setter,” Lail said. “She can put the ball anywhere. She always seems to put up a perfect set.”
A setter can’t register an assist without a hitter executing a kill, and Sumida is quick to say she’s been able to work with some talented ones throughout her Baylor career. Junior Ally Craig paces the Lady Raiders in kills this season with 372.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Craig said of how good Sumida is. “She’s the best. I’m sad this is the last year I’m going to get to play with her. She’s one of the best I’ve ever worked with. She’s willing to listen. She’s great at communicating. When you see across the net all the people setting for other teams, it’s just not the same.
“She’s one of the best setters I’ve ever seen, no doubt about it.”
Sophomore Zoe Ubamadu (282 kills) and junior Denver Rogers (270 kills) joined Sumida and Craig on the all-region team. Adding to Baylor’s hitting depth, senior Lexie Laurendine has 185 kills.
“I love having three front-row players where I can set any of them,” said Sumida, who has registered 129 kills herself. “It’s such a great feeling. They work hard and help me play better.”
The Lady Raiders are tournament-tested, having won the Showdown at the Sonisphere in Knoxville at the beginning of the season and the River City Rumble they and Soddy-Daisy hosted Sept. 15-16. And don’t think they peaked early because they were 31-0 on Sept. 27.
On Sept. 28 they began competing in the Nike Tournament of Champions – a prestigious event featuring 74 teams from across the country. Four of their losses were there in Phoenix, where they ended up 21st.
This is Baylor’s ninth consecutive state berth and 19th overall. The Lady Raiders are seeking their ninth appearance in a championship match and their fourth title.
“We know we can win it,” Sumida said, “but we’re going to have to play our best and do what we need to do.”
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.