Lady Vols Secure a Critical Region 24 Victory on Sophomore Night

Wednesday night was about honoring sophomores Shelbey Saye, Taytum Murdock and Tatum Gaines.
Wednesday night was about honoring sophomores Shelbey Saye, Taytum Murdock and Tatum Gaines.

Lady Vols Secure a Critical Region 24 Victory on Sophomore Night

On a night meant to honor the contributions and sacrifices of our sophomores, the team stepped up and got a solid straight-set win over Vincennes University. Game scores were 25-15, 25-17, 25-17.

Vincennes came into the night as the only undefeated team in Region 24 for the season. Their wins included a 4 set victory over the Lady Vols at the Vincennes Tournament. With a performance inspired by sophomores Taytum Murdock, Shelbey Saye, and Tatum Gaines, the Vols were able to turn the tables on Vincennes and get the straight set victory.

Offensively, the team was led by a trio of Freshmen. Kim Hall led in kills with 10, followed closely by Bryleigh Buchanan with 9. Bryleigh also contributed 5 blocks. The most efficient hitter ended up being Murphysboro Freshmen Mallorie Harris who had an awesome night with 7 kills on only 9 swings. "Sometimes it sdifficult to get enough sets to your middle hitters, but I last night I wish we could have gotten more to Mallorie. She definitely had her "A" game last night," said Coach Burnside.

Sophomore Setter Shelbey Saye had another excellent night distributing the ball with 18 assists. Kameryn Sillmon contributed offensively with 6 kills and defensively with a team-leading 7 blocks. Defense on the floor was led by Alanis Below, Olivia Hallet, and Kim Hall who each made 12 digs.

"It's always great to win on Sophomore Night, but tonight was more satisfying than most because we overcame a quality opponent and played some of our best volleyball of the season. It was nice to do it for our sophomores and in front of a good group of home fans," said coach.