With one last season to leave her mark on the volleyball court for GPS, Kylie Barry is providing leadership that has helped the Bruisers find a bit of a groove lately.
The senior libero celebrated her birthday Wednesday by helping lead a three-set sweep of visiting East Hamilton, 25-11, 25-23, 25-16. Barry saved a handful of tough hits in the back row and also was stellar with her serves, totaling four aces and 12 digs.
"Kylie is irreplaceable," first-year coach Bailey Winel said after GPS improved to 7-3. "She is a leader on and off the court. What I really like is during practice she will pull teammates aside that I may not have time to give 1-on-1 instruction, and she will work with them on whatever they need help with. I love her stepping into that role and taking the defense under her wing."
Coming off a tournament trip to Gatlinburg, where the Bruisers won the bronze bracket and settled into their 6-2 rotation, the Bruisers were smooth in the win against East Hamilton.
GPS junior Ansley Blevins delivered set-ending kills in the first and second sets as seniors Chapel Cunningham and Barry delivered sharp feeds to the tall attacker. Blevins' ability to shift to both sidelines as a hitter and take over in the middle as a blocker showed as she had a match-high nine kills and four blocks.
"Ansley's quickness and ability to react quick makes her a very good player," Winel said. "She is an all-around good athlete and can use both hands when she needs to. She's always ready to react, which is key."
Cunningham had three aces during a 10-0 run in the third set, and GPS sophomore McKamey Bratcher totaled six kills and 10 digs in the match.
"McKamey is usually just a back row player for us, but when I saw the way she was hitting in the JV game, I had to give her an opportunity," Winel said. "She is not the biggest player, but she loves to hit and her play on the left side really helped us tonight."
East Hamilton eighth-grader Julia Culpepper had five aces and two blocks, and Amya Sutton had a game-high 14 digs for the visitors.
* Soddy-Daisy swept visiting Ooltewah, 28-26, 25-12, 25-21, behind standout performances by Caroline Lemons (14 kills, five aces), Hope Ingle (18 assists, 14 digs) and Javaria Smith (25 digs).
* Rhea County beat Red Bank, 25-21, 25-21, 27-25, as Bailee Phillips and Lexie Wright combined for 15 kills, 20 digs and six aces.
* Heritage swept Pickens and Ridgeland on Tuesday to improve to 13-3 overall and 3-0 in region play. Aaliyah Rodgers contributed 13 kills and five aces, and Kallie Carter had five blocked shots in the win over Ridgeland.
GIRLS' SOCCER
Signal Mountain 6, McMinn Central 1: The reigning back-to-back Class A state champions were dominant with their passing and scoring Tuesday as Kara Wilson had three assists, Lily Whitney notched two goals and Briley Lowry had one each for the Lady Eagles (2-0).
SOFTBALL
Chattooga 6, Rome 1: The Lady Indians returned to action after the team had to quarantine for 10 days due to COVID-19 to improve to 6-0 with a win over GHSA Class AAAAA's Lady Wolves. Ciara Wyatt earned the pitching win with three scoreless innings, and Emma Howard finished the game for the save. Howard also was 3-for-4 at the plate, while Katie Williams, Kayleigh Byars and Bree Evans had an RBI each.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon. Contact Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.