JOHNSON CITY – Ending her dear friend’s season wasn’t the way Dobyns-Bennett coach Kayce Green would’ve wanted to begin the District 1-AAA volleyball tournament, but her and the Indians didn’t have an option.
Norah Shook tallied 11 kills and Kiyah Blye added eight as Dobyns-Bennett defeated Crockett, 27-29, 25-14, 25-17, 25-21 in an opening-round matchup Thursday night at Science Hill.
The third-seeded Indians (20-15) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket, where it’ll take on second-seeded Tennessee High (27-8) on Monday. Crockett, which had a number of students jarringly affected by flooding last weekend, finished the season with a 12-17 record.
Green and Crockett counterpart Ashton Hippenstiel are volleyball junkies, a common interest that’s created a tight bond.
“All I can say is I really didn’t want to play my best friend,” Green said, “because I love him and his team and his kids.”
Crockett, which defeated Dobyns-Bennett once during the regular season, didn’t go quietly. The Pioneers overcame an 18-11 deficit and dodged two set points to prevail in the opening game, and even when it was trailing 24-18 in what proved to be the final set, the Crockett scored three straight to get within, 24-21.
Shook and Blye, respectively referred to by Green as Thunder and Lightning, delivered over and over when the sledding turned rough.
“Obviously, Thunder and Lightning are always on point, taking care of the ball,” Green said. “They’re never up and down, even when they have little mishaps, they’re back zeroed in and ready for the next ball, which is so hard to do, especially for Norah. I mean, she’s just a sophomore.
“That’s a hard thing to do when you’re younger. And I think she does that beautifully.”
Shook and Blye were steadily fed by setters Mela Brice (21) and Jeslyn Harden (16), who combined for 37 assists.
“I’m super proud of Jeslyn and Mela, because in transition we were getting the ball outside a ton,” Green said. “I was like, ‘Stop, establish your middles, get your right sides involved.’ And they did a great job spreading the ball around.”
Arden Bateman had 17 digs for D-B. Brice added 14. Milly Williams tallied four aces and Brice had three, and Green was relieved to see the Indians’ serving improve throughout the match after an iffy opening.
“Our service errors were minimized toward the end,” Green said. “We’ve consistently missed at least 10 or more serves in every match, and that has been the point differential for our losses – literally – in almost every one. … We’ve gotten exponentially better serving – like our short serves and deep serves and switching it up.”
It was gratifying for Green to see how her team responded after an emotionally grueling loss in the first set.
“Yes, we did a good job,” she said. “We didn’t blink. We stayed level. I think we’ve had a lot of tough matches lately where we have really been pushed to our limit. These kids have gotten so much better at staying level-headed and not freaking out.
“Sometimes I think it takes us a hot second to warm up. I’m so proud of all of ’em.”
Tennessee High swept Dobyns-Bennett with a pair of four-set victories during the regular season. Green said D-B had 14 service errors in one match and 12 in the other.
If he had to lose, Crockett’s Hippenstiel was glad it was to Green.
“It’s bittersweet having to match up with Kayce,” Hippenstiel said. “Anytime I go against Kayce – my best friend – she pushes me to be better. So it’s always a blessing to get an opportunity to go out there and compete against each other. …
“Those Dobyns-Bennett girls are a super-tough matchup, and I know that, obviously, anytime we see them.”
Crockett got 12 kills from left-hander Kamryn Martin and 10 and eight, respectively, from Callie Butler and Kara Coggins.
Brylee Tullock paced four Pioneers with double-digit digs with 18. Butler and Coggins added 13 apiece and setter Sydney Shelton had 11.
“Tonight, you didn’t get the win you wanted to continue on in that tournament,” Hippenstiel said. “But you also saw the competitive side of us – the way we push each other, the way after getting down and just never giving up. And that’s something I really saw this last week and a half or two weeks of the season.
“It was cool to see us battle late in the season when you’re beat up and emotionally banged up, especially with the week we’ve been through as a community. It was cool to see us go out and compete.”