PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 15
By Martin Edwards Staff Writer
The Aubrey Lady Chaps moved two steps closer to the big dance, with wins over the Ferris Lady Yellow Jackets and Sunnyvale Lady Raiders in the area round and regional semifinals.
Aubrey swept Ferris but needed every bit of skill it gained throughout the season to put down Sunnyvale three sets to one Tuesday night.
“[Sunnyvale] is a great team,” head volleyball coach Whitney Stout said. “We knew they had a good offense and that we were going to have to come in and play well. … After the first set we settled in on serve-receive and looked a lot more fluid, [and] in the end, I told them to believe in each other.”
The Lady Raiders came out as fired up as their large crowd of fans and caught the Lady Chaps flat footed, stymying Aubrey’s offense and winning the opening set 25-21.
Aubrey’s offense found more success in the second set after shifting most of its attacks from the middle to the edges of its offense.
Spearheaded by outside hitters—sophomore Chloe Miller and senior Abby Wright—the Lady Chaps turned the tables on the Lady Raiders, taking the second set 25-21 and tying the match at 1.
The third set was a seesaw affair that saw Aubrey jump out to an early lead only for Sunnyvale to battle its way back, tying it at 24.
The Lady Chaps found a way to pull out the third set 26-24 and had to fight just as hard to win the fourth set 25-23.
“They did a good job of slowing Kynadi [Hall] down early, but it really opened the game up for our outsides,” Stout said. “Chloe played amazingly, [and] Abby also did a really good job for us on the outside which as the game went on, helped open up the middle for Kynadi to pick things up.”
Despite facing strong defense most of the night, Hall found a way to help her team win, leading the defense with five blocks and making blocks at crucial moments that helped swing things in Aubrey’s favor.
Hall credited the victory to her teammates.
“Usually, I’m not being shut down on offense,” she said. “I had a triple block coming out [towards me]. Thankfully, our outside hitters were great tonight.”
The duo of Miller and Wright led the Lady Chaps’ offense, with 21 and 15 kills, respectively.
“Whenever the game is on the line, and we start playing for each other, it becomes a big deal,” she said. “We do [as much as we can] for each other and that’s what we did tonight, and it paid off.”
Stout stated that the Lady Chaps would enjoy the win but would get back on the court as soon as possible to prepare for their opponent.
“We’re going right back to work because we have another good team on Friday,” she said. “We know that everyone that’s left is [elite], so we want to be ready.”
Aubrey will face the Pleasant Grove Lady Hawks in the regional final at 6 p.m. Friday at
Martin Edwards/The Post-Signal
