Elizabethton, behind a 9-ace performance from freshman Mattie Davis, topped Unicoi 3-1 for a conference victory inside John Treadway Gym Tuesday.
Davis kept the Lady Blue Devils off balance for most of the night as she served up a 95-percent serving percentage. Along with her performance from the service line, Davis had three blocks at the net.
“Early in the season we had struggled with serving,” said EHS head coach Leslee Bradley. “It has been something that we have focused on in the last week, and so for her to go back there as a freshman on a pressure-filled night, and put that many serves in, as well as choose really good spots, is really impressive.”
The Lady Cyclones took the first set 25-20. A kill from Elizabethton junior Morgan Smith gave EHS a set-point chance before Davis hit a serve that clipped the net before falling in for a point.
The second set ended with the Lady Blue Devils, after possibly the longest point of the night, held on to win, 26-24, making it a 1-1 contest.
The Lady Cyclones, however, regrouped in the next set to get back on track. Four straight points from Davis at the service line allowed Elizabethton to climb out to a 5-2 lead early in the third set. A kill from Lady Cyclone Marley Wagner allowed EHS a 13-6 edge before back-to-back kills from senior Sydney Goodsell and Kallista DePrimo made it a 17-10 contest. Up 24-14, Elizabethton’s Josie Lyons made two clutch digs that would eventually lead the Lady Cyclones picking up the set point and taking a 2-1 lead.
The final set stayed tight before a block from Elizabethton’s Macey Burleson and Brittney Kitchens gave EHS a 25-23 victory and a 3-1 match win.
“I feel like we got flat at times tonight,” said Bradley. “We got frustrated with ourselves and each other. The mental aspect of the game is really important, and we lost our focus and went flat.
“Unicoi made some great plays,” added Bradley. “They did some really good stuff on their side of the net. Instead of taking that as a challenge, we let that get us frustrated.”
The Lady Cyclones are now 3-1 in the conference and 7-3 overall.
Burleson finished the night with three blocks, while Kitchens had two.
Goodsell had seven aces, 13 kills, and 29 digs. DePrimo and Smith each had seven kills.
Elizabethton made the trip over to Johnson County Wednesday and will be at Daniel Boone this evening.