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(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Senior Emi Gordy jumps into the air and looks to make contact with the ball for a kill Thursday, Nov. 7 during Graham’s 3-0 loss to Decatur in the area round of the playoffs. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham senior Annemarie McHenry smacks a ball over the net looking for a point Thursday, Nov. 7 during the team’s 3-0 area playoff loss to Decatur. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham senior setter Camden Thorne pushes a ball into the air for one of her teammates to hit during the Lady Blues’ 3-0 loss in the area round of the playoffs Thursday, Nov. 7 against Decatur. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Lady Blues senior Lillian Noble hits a ball for a kill from the back row during Graham’s 3-0 area round loss Thursday, Nov. 7 to Decatur. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham’s Braylee Mayes rises into the air to hit a ball back over the net Thursday, Nov. 7 during the final set of the Lady Blues’ 3-0 loss to Decatur in the area round of the playoffs. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham setter Georgia Martin keeps her eye on the ball as she sets it for one of her teammates Thursday, Nov. 7 during the Lady Blues’ 3-0 area round loss to Decatur. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Lady Blues’ Kaden Atwood makes a diving save for a dig during the final set of Graham’s 3-0 area round loss Thursday, Nov. 7 against Decatur. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham sophomore Katie McGehee tosses the ball into the air and goes to serve it late in the game Thursday, Nov. 7 in the Lady Blues’ 3-0 loss to Decatur.
After sweeping their bi-district playoff game, the Graham Lady Blues were dealt a somewhat unlucky draw in their area round.
The Lady Blues matched up with the Decatur Lady Eagles, the same team that knocked Graham out of the playoffs in the area round last season.
At a neutral site Thursday, Nov. 7, the Lady Blues couldn’t get their revenge and saw their season come to an end in a three-set sweep to the Lady Eagles by set scores of 15-25, 13-25 and 15-25.
It was a tough way for the season to close for Graham (25-15), especially with the large number of seniors on the squad. Head coach Marci Faulk knows the contributions they’ve each made to this program, and she’ll look to the juniors and other underclassmen to step up in the future.
“I challenged the (younger players), I said, ‘You got big shoes to fill.’ I said, ‘These seniors have carried us emotionally, mentally, physically, and we’ve got to fill those spots,’” Faulk said.
Decatur presented a difficult challenge for Graham’s girls. The Lady Eagles made it to the regional quarterfinal last year before falling to the Lady Blues’ district opponent Glen Rose, and Decatur returned a handful of talented players.
Throughout the start of the match, Graham’s confidence was high and the Lady Blues hung with Decatur through the first half of the set. Emi Gordy scored the first point of the game with a big block at the net, and Lillian Noble scored the first offensive point with a kill a few balls later.
Braylee Mayes recorded her first two kills to keep things close, and a Decatur hit out of bounds tied the set at 7-7. Graham then took a lead on a kill by Gordy and another kill from Mayes that was set up by an impressive dig from Kaden Atwood.
The two sides battled and were tied 11-11 before things took a turn for the worse.
Decatur put together a quick four-point run to make it 15-11, which forced a Graham timeout to try to not let things get out of hand.
It worked in the short-term as Noble recorded a soft kill, one of Decatur’s players missed a kill on the sideline and Georgia Martin served an ace. A few plays later, Martin surprised the defense by pushing the ball over on the second hit, and Graham trailed 17-15.
But the Lady Blues didn’t score the rest of the way as the Lady Eagles racked up eight straight points to take the first set.
“(Decatur is) a very solid team. They’ve got solid hitters, they run a fast tempo offense, and they served aggressive, and I thought that hurt us,” Faulk said. “Our serve receive has been our strength this season, and we struggled a little bit, and that’s what made it slow to get our offense going.”
Things didn’t get much easier for Graham in the next two sets. Decatur opened the second frame with an 8-2 run, which eventually ballooned to 17-7 before Graham’s first timeout.
The Lady Eagles were getting offense from all over the court, and despite Graham’s best defensive efforts, they struggled to get their offense rolling.
Madison Cauble had a kill early in the set while Noble and Mayes continued to find holes here and there.
Annemarie McHenry scored the Lady Blues’ last point of the set on a soft kill to the sideline, but Decatur took the second set 25-13.
“Control our half,” Faulk said about what she told her team in between sets. “Don’t get caught up in what they’re doing. Worry about what we have to do. Just try to play fundamental volleyball.”
The Lady Blues continued to battle, and they worked a lot of long rallies against the Lady Eagles with their digs and communication. But Decatur seemed just a step ahead and ended up winning a lot of those tiring rallies.
Graham continued to get points where they could as the senior hitters led the way, mixed in with a block from Cauble. But Decatur took the final set and swept the Lady Blues out of the playoffs.
Noble finished with a team-high 12 kills and added in six digs and two blocks. Mayes ended with seven kills, eight digs and two blocks while Atwood provided 11 digs on defense.
Camden Thorne recorded nine assists and two digs while Martin ended with 11 assists, one kill, three digs and an ace. Gordy finished the game with a kill and two blocks.
“It felt like the effort never wavered. I told them I felt like we fought harder this year than we did last year, and so they should be very proud of that,” Faulk said.
