Baylor beats Briarcrest 3-1 for volleyball state title

Baylor volleyball coach Sarah Lail talks to her team during the match with GPS Wednesday night at home.
Baylor volleyball coach Sarah Lail talks to her team during the match with GPS Wednesday night at home.
photo Sarah Sumida from Baylor School is being recognized as an outstanding Volleyball player during the 2016 Best of Preps. Photo taken in the CTFP studio on Nov. 16, 2016.

Baylor has only two seniors on its volleyball team, but it's hard to believe the Lady Red Raiders could have accomplished what they did Thursday in Murfreesboro without either of them.

After winning the first two sets in the TSSAA Division II-AA state final, Baylor did things the hard way but still got the mission accomplished of winning the title by defeating Briarcrest 3-1 at Middle Tennessee State University. Set scores were 25-20, 25-11, 17-25, 26-24.

One senior the Lady Raiders counted on all year was setter Sarah Sumida, and not surprisingly she came up big in the final. Sumida totaled 51 assists and also had eight kills, two blocks and 13 digs. She was chosen most valuable player of the championship match.

"What a great way to end my high school volleyball career," Sumida said, "and to do it with the people I was with makes it even more special."

Sumida didn't hide the fact that Baylor (42-5) was out for revenge against the Saints, who beat the Lady Raiders in last year's championship match. But Baylor limped into that 2016 final as standout hitter Gabby Gray, now playing at Western Carolina, injured an ankle the night before and was unable to play.

This time around the Lady Raiders had an abundance of hitters, led by Ally Craig with 16 kills in the championship match. They looked like a team out for payback, then ran into a snag in the third set.

"We gave up too many easy shots and they were able to capitalize," Baylor coach Sarah Lail said. "We just got out of system in the third game. You just can't do that against a team like Briarcrest."

The fourth set looked as though it also was going to go the way of the Saints, who led most of the way but never by much. After leading 10-6, they never owned another four-point margin but held seven three-point leads afterward - the last at 23-20.

photo Baylor's Ally Craig (12) fires a put away shot past GPS's Hannah Kincer (9) in the first game Wednesday night at Baylor.

Lail used a timeout with Briarcrest sitting on double set point at 24-22. Then Baylor came out and scored four consecutive points, tying it on one of Denver Rogers' 11 kills, taking the lead on an ace by Craig and winning it when a Briarcrest spike went into the net.

"I'm proud of the way they battled back," Lail said. "All you can do is focus on the next play. Volleyball is such a momentum-driven thing. Sometimes you can let that fear creep in. We had to stay on the attack. Some teams will start doing things like tipping in that situation, but I always believe the more aggressive team is the one that wins.

"We found a way and kept battling. It was such a team effort."

Rogers led Baylor in digs with 15 and equaled Zoe Ubamadu with three blocks. The other senior who was a key contributor was Lexie Laurendine with 10 kills, Lail noting that many came at crucial times.

"I definitely think she was on fire today," Sumida said. "I really don't know where that came from. She was positive the whole time. She was a great leader."

The championship is the Lady Raiders' fourth in program history.

"Honestly, I can't even express how I feel," Laurendine said. "It's probably one of the greatest experiences I'm ever going to be a part of. We knew we were going to have to play hard and be on our game. That was awesome to see in each one of my teammates."

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