Baylor is bringing home hardware from the TSSAA volleyball state tournament once again.
Even if it’s not quite the type the Lady Red Raiders wanted.
For the ninth time in program history, Baylor finished as state runner-up, with the Lady Red Raiders getting swept by Lipscomb Academy, 25-14, 25-23, 25-18, in Thursday afternoon’s Division II-AA final at Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro.
Since winning its fourth and most recent title in 2017, Baylor has proceeded to finish second in the state in 2018, 2020, 2022 and now 2024. Coach Sarah Lail’s program has finished second in its classification every other year since 2016.
“This was a fantastic season led by an amazing group of seniors who truly left their legacy on our program,” Lail said. “I told our team today doesn’t define our season. What we need to remember are the good times and friendships we have formed that will last forever. They have been one of the best Baylor volleyball teams to take the court, and I was blessed and honored to coach them.”
The Lady Red Raiders received star play in the second set from senior Addi Kegerreis, who had seven of her team-high 14 kills in that frame. Kegerreis had 56 kills in four games at the state tournament, while junior Kaiulani Sherrow had 17 blocks.
Senior setter Sydney Sharpe had 126 assists, 33 kills and five aces in Murfreesboro as Baylor finished the season 29-6.
Lipscomb (22-7) was excellent defensively in the title match as the Lady Mustangs had 11 blocks, while Ruby Walton had 14 kills and five aces. Kailey Thomas had 10 kills with just one error on 22 attacks, while Tori Church had 32 assists.
“We played tough against a very defensively sound team,” said Lail, whose team lost 3-2 to Lipscomb on Tuesday to begin play at the state’s final four tourney. “Lipscomb Academy was firing on all cylinders, so congratulations to them.”
The Lady Red Raiders were region champions and lost just one set in eight league matches. Emma Mulvaney and Rory Oleksik impressed with 48 kills and 86 digs, respectively, at the state tournament and will be key returning player next year along with Nina Lail, who was successful on more than 94% of her serves as a freshman this season.
Class A at Blackman
Sale Creek 3, Arts & Sciences 0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-14); Summertown 3, Sale Creek 2 (25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 20-25, 15-9): The Lady Panthers finished fourth at the state tournament as they swept CSAS (21-9) before falling in five sets to conclude their season at 41-9.
Class AA at Siegel
Signal Mountain 3, Soddy Daisy 1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-12); Creek Wood 3, Signal Mountain 2 (22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-9): The Lady Eagles finished fourth overall in the state and concluded their season with a 24-15 record. Signal Mountain beat Soddy Daisy for the fourth straight time this season, which ended the Lady Trojans’ season at 16-22.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.