The Stone Memorial High School Lady Panther volleyball team (31-25) with be making another trip to Murfreesboro this week to compete in the TSSAA State Tournament, after defeating Sullivan North Thursday night in the sectional tournament for the second straight year. They will play Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) in the opening round of the Class AA division at MTSU.
The Lady Panthers defeated Sullivan North 25-15, 22-25, 25-18, 25-15.
The other first round Class AA matches are Dyersburg (24-7) vs. Chattanooga Christian (29-13), South Greene (22-1) vs. Red Bank (51-9) and Page (42-8) vs. Crockett County (31-11)in the double elimination tournament.
Thursday's match was full of emotion and momentum swings, and in a complete team effort, the Lady Panthers came out on top.
"I am extremely proud of these girls. They have accomplished something that many people
thought we couldn't do this season. The team chemistry and competitive spirit is what gets them through tough matches like last night," said Coach Meghan Kunzelman.
In the sectional match, the Lady Panthers were led by Brittany Eller with 31 kills and 23 digs. Kelli Keck tallied five kills, 55 assists, and nine digs.
The defense was led by Leslie Brown with 24 digs, while Lori Keck tallied 18 digs and Meagan Zientara tallied 15 digs. Erin Keyes served for 17 points, had five kills and two blocks. Allie Blair tallied eight kills, a block, and 15 digs. Casey Swafford tallied six kills to go with five blocks.
The state tournament will be held at MTSU and Blackman High School, Oct. 28-30.
The Lady Panthers went undefeated during the District 4AA regular season and tournament play and won the Region 2AA title last Tuesday night at Knox Gibbs.
