CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Cleveland’s Lady Raiders got their first view from the top Thursday. And for now, they’re going to stay there.
Last year, Cleveland’s volleyball program accomplished a few things it never had before, not the least of which was advancing to the TSSAA state tournament and even winning a match. But it all started with the Lady Raiders winning the District 5-AAA regular-season championship, which they began defense of by hosting and defeating Ooltewah 25-19, 25-14, 25-22 in their season-opening match.
The longest scoring run of the match was nine consecutive points by Cleveland in the first set that started with the Lady Owls up 4-2. The second set was tied at 1 and at 2, but the Lady Raiders led the rest of the time.
Cleveland’s largest lead in the third was 20-13. Coach Trish Flowers used a timeout after Ooltewah (1-2, 1-1) got within 21-20, and apparently what she had to say during the minute break encouraged her players to finish it out.
“They went out there and got refocused,” Flowers said.