Undefeated Elgin brings home state championship
CHICKASHA - The Elgin volleyball team took a 32-0 record and No. 1 ranking into the Class 4A state finals yesterday and waiting for them was long-time rival Cache.
Facing the Bulldogs for the sixth time this season, Elgin (33-0) was able get by its rival in four tough sets. The scores were: 25-9, 25-21, 21-25, 25-14.
In the fourth set, Elgin was winning, 12-11, before it went on one of its patented runs that its been making all year. The Owls finished the set on a 13-3 run behind five kills from Jentry Holt to capture Elgin's fourth state title in school history and its first state title in any girls sport in the school's history. The match ended on a service error by Cache.
"I figured we would be playing Cache for the title," Elgin head coach Lindsey Mickley said. "Cache is a great team and they have gotten better all year long. They gave us a run for our money and it proved that we are strong and no one was going to get in the way of our goal."
No. 1 Elgin took advantage of Cache's fatigue in the first set as the Bulldogs were coming off a five-set thriller just 30 minutes before in the semifinals against Okay. The Owls opened the game on an 11-4 run behind kills from Holt, Sam Grubb and Magan Castlebury. Cache narrowed it to 11-7. Elgin responded by going on a 14-2 run to close out the first set as Holt ripped four more kills.
Holt, a sophomore, had 23 kills and was named the tournament's most outstanding player.
"Jentry is a gem as are all the rest of the girls, I can't ask for a better group," Mickley said. "The girls came out and played strong the first two sets, but I knew that Cache is a team that gets better as the match goes on and they proved that. We made too many mistakes in set three and they capitalized on those.
Tuesday May 21st, 2013 • 2:09:00pm
