Brentwood 3 Houston 0 (Finals, Winners Bracket)
For the 23rd time in 28 appearances, the Brentwood Lady Bruins volleyball team will play for the TSSAA Class AAA state championship Friday afternoon, securing a spot in the finals with a 25-20, 25-23, 25-18 victory over new state rival Houston. The championship berth is the ninth in a row by the Lady Bruins. Brentwood beat Houston in the finals last year to capture their seventh straight state title and their 15th overall. The win Thursday did not come easily, though. Houston scored the first point of the match and seemed to have the attitude they were going to set the tone quickly. An intense back-and-forth battle finally broke when the Lady Bruins rolled off a 10-3 to take a 23-16 lead in the first set. The second set was even more intense, with seven ties and eight lead changes before Brentwood broke a late game 23-all tie with two straight points for the victory, the final tally and emphatic slam across the net came from Shaye Eggleston. The third set was equally contested until Brentwood broke the game open with the score tied at 12-all, rolling off 13 points with seeming ease, though the intensity on both sides never diminished. “Whenever the energy is there, there is nothing that can really stop us. We are just good at balancing each other out,” said junior Hollye Tate when asked about the tremendous teamwork that has been the hallmark of the team all week. In each of the three sets, there was a crucial moment where the Brentwood team appeared to lean on each other and refuse to lose. “There is a moment in the game, and we all feel it, where someone takes charge and just says, ‘we’re not losing this game,’” said Eggleston. "A lot of people just think it’s going to be easy for us. But they don’t see the hard work we put in to it, the hours in the summer when others haven’t even started practicing and we are thinking about the state championship.” Eggleston, who recorded her third double-double in as many matches at state with 14 kills and 10 digs, got plenty of help at the net from Mary Oldham and Tate, who both added nine kills. Dylan Sulcer also notched a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs, Haley Carpenter had 10 assists, and Meredith Moody had eight more. Zoe Oldham also had a strong overall game. Brentwood will face a familiar foe again in the final, taking on Siegel – the tournament host – after the Lady Stars battled through consolation and handed Houston a 25-11, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20 loss in Siegel's third match of the day. Brentwood fell in five sets against Siegel in late September, shortly before coach Barbara Campbell was sidelines due to health issues. Both Tate and Eggleston shared the common goal of the team: to win this state title for coach Campbell, who has been missing from the Lady Bruins bench for the first time in her 33 years as she recovers. “She has never missed a game in my entire four years here,” said Eggleston. “I know she’s going to be watching. We can feel her presence.” The Class AAA championship match is set for 4 p.m. at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro. It will follow the Nolensville Lady Knights shot at a second straight title. Nolensville will face Anderson County in the AA final Friday at 1 p.m. at Siegel.
Brentwood 3 Cookeville (Semifinals)
The Brentwood High School volleyball team moved one step closer to another record-breaking championship with a 25-9, 25-17, 25-10 sweep of Cookeville Wednesday in the Class AAA championship semifinals of the state tournament at Siegel High School. The Lady Bruins opened the match with a dominating 25-9 win in the opening set, one that was keyed by the confident team play of a group of strong individual performers. That theme continued through the sweep, somewhat in contrast to Tuesday’s opening round, four-set win over Collierville. Senior Haley Sanders, who had 14 digs and six assists in the match, said the return of confidence was by design. “We had a little pow-wow before the game to talk about how we needed to stay confident throughout the tournament,” Sanders said. “We’ve won this event seven years in a row and we need to show that we are confident without being cocky. We just needed to hit the reset button on playing together with confidence.” The teamwork was obvious from the start, with runs of 8-3 and 7-1 putting the first set out of reach early. It was the same in the third set when runs of 6-2 and 11-2 put things away quickly. “After yesterday we talked that we all wanted to play better, to raise our standards,” said Dylan Sulcer, echoing Sanders’ words. “We really started strong in that first set because we were so confident in each other.” Sulcer led the team with 22 assists to go along with her 46 from Tuesday, while adding nine digs. Shaye Eggleston tacked on another double-double with 11 kills and 16 digs to lead the team against Cookeville. Eggleston, a senior Alabama commitment, tallied 24 kills and 15 digs in the state opener. While Brentwood was in complete control in the first and third sets, Cookeville proved in the second set they made the state tournament for a reason. The Lady Cavaliers never trailed by more than four behind the play of hitters Blake Cherry, Mattie Arnett and Mary Grace Bundrant, pulling to within 19-17 before Hollye Tate, Mary Oldham and Zoe Oldham slammed the door with a 6-1 run. The victory sets the Brentwood record at 36-3 this season and ups their state tournament record to 106-18 overall. The Lady Bruins will hope to add to those numbers at 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon when they will face a familiar foe in Houston. The winner will advance into the tournament finals on Friday. Both matches will be at Siegel High School. Brentwood beat Houston in four sets last year to claim a seventh straight state championship and 15th overall. The Lady Bruins defeated Houston 2-1 in a play-date in early September as well. Brentwood also continues its march toward the title without legendary coach Barbara Campbell on the sidelines. The veteran mentor, who is in her 33rd season coaching Brentwood, is recovering from health issues. Longtime assistants Angie Noble and Cathy Cram are guiding the Lady Bruins from the bench, while a crown sits in the place for coach Campbell. "She's our queen," Eggleston has said in the past of her longtime coach. Wednesday's match marked the ninth in a row without coach Campbell on the bench.
Thursday’s Schedule
9:30 a.m. – Maryville (31-5) vs. Collierville (16-10), loser out
12 p.m. – Siegel (31-7) vs. Cookeville (29-7), loser out
2:30 p.m. – Brentwood (36-3) vs. Houston (26-6)
5 p.m. – Maryville-Collierville winner vs. Siegel-Cookeville winner
7:30 p.m. – Brentwood-Houston loser vs. 5 p.m. winner, loser out
Wednesday’s Results
Brentwood def. Cookeville, 25-9, 25-18, 25-10
Houston def. Maryville, 25-23, 25-15, 25-23
Collierville def. Science Hill, 23-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-12, loser out
Siegel def. Station Camp, 25-18, 25-17, 25-21, loser out
Tuesday's Results
Brentwood def. Collierville, 25-13, 24-26, 25-13, 25-18
Cookeville def. Science Hill, 25-15, 25-15, 25-11
Houston def. Station Camp, 22-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-22, 16-14
Maryville def. Siegel, 28-26, 13-25, 25-23, 25-22
It was their stage, and they would command it. For Brentwood High School seniors Mary Oldham and Shaye Eggleston, the reigning Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year, and the rest of their teammates, Tuesday’s opening-round four-set victory (25-13, 24-26, 25-18, 25-13) over Collierville was just the right start to the seniors' fourth straight state tourney. The match took an interesting turn in the second set when the Lady Dragons forced a change in tempo, going to a slow drop-shot offense after realizing they could not match the Lady Bruins’ power game. “It can be hard to get used to,” Oldham said after the match, “because we practice with a lot of hard driven balls. When you get a lot of short balls and blocks, you just have to make sure you’re covering and pinching the inside.” Eggleston agreed. “It’s really chaotic, but I feel like in those moments, all the hard work we’ve put in comes through for us,” she said. “You just have to scramble and keep the ball off the floor, and I think we did that.” Brentwood turned the tables in the third and fourth set, combining their normal powerful front row with a bit of Collierville’s own medicine, dropping short shots unexpectedly and keeping the Lady Dragons guessing. “Winning those scramble points ultimately gains a lot of momentum,” Oldham said. “Anger drives us and gives us more passion. It just makes us that much more excited when we get a point.” Brentwood dropping the second game was a bit of a surprise to some observers, as the seven-time defending champions were expected to roll through the first two rounds. Eggleston said it might have been a good wake-up call. “I think sometimes we let a game get the best of us, but ultimately, we all have the confidence that we are going to find a way to win,” she said. The Lady Bruins understand there is a huge target on their backs as the winningest program in the state in the 21st century. They've played for the state championship in eight consecutive seasons. “Every team gets up to play us,” Eggleston said, “so it is especially important for us to never be caught not playing our best.” Eggleston led Brentwood statistically with 24 kills and 15 digs, while Oldham added 15 kills and four aces from the service line. Haley Sanders and Meredith Moody also did a good job of keeping the ball in play with 20 and nine digs, respectively. Sophomore Dylan Sulcer guided the offense with 46 assists, while Haley Carpenter added 11. The Lady Bruins continue their march without the physical presence of legendary mentor Barbara Campbell, a 15-time state champion head coach, who is recovering from health issues. Brentwood will face Cookeville at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday after the Lady Cavaliers swept Science Hill 25-15, 25-15, 25-11.
2020 Class AAA State Tournament
All matches at Siegel High School
Tuesday's Results
Brentwood def. Collierville, 25-13, 24-26, 25-13, 25-18
Cookeville def. Science Hill, 25-15, 25-15, 25-11
Houston def. Station Camp, 22-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-22, 16-14
Maryville def. Siegel, 28-26, 13-25, 25-23, 25-22
Wednesday’s Schedule
9:30 a.m. – Brentwood (35-3) vs. Cookeville (29-6)
12 p.m. – Houston (25-6) vs. Maryville (31-4)
2:30 p.m. – Collierville (15-10) vs. Science Hill (28-5), loser out
5 p.m. – Station Camp (27-3) vs. Siegel (30-7), loser out
Source: Williamson Herald
