Oak Ridge girls get Senior Night sweep of Eagles

EL DORADO HILLS — After honoring its seven seniors, the Oak Ridge Lady Trojan volleyball team showed why its second in the Delta River League after sweeping Pleasant Grove, 26-24, 25-14, 25-14.

“We did a good job of maintain focus throughout. I think we wavered a little bit early on after the emotion of Senior Night, but they really did on a good job of grinding through and doing work,” coach Becky Potter said.

Prior to the match, Oak Ridge honored seniors Maddie Chambliss, Amelia Crye, Rachael McVicar, Tara McDermott, Melissa Coty, Nicolette Tsivikas and Mysha Davies.

Pleasant Grove hit the ground running to lead 4-0 lead but after a Crye kill, Oak Ridge stormed back. Two Crye aces tied the game at 12s. Following a Davies kill, Pleasant Grove committed a net violation and Oak Ridge led 18-17 after an Eagle deflection out-of-bounds. As play went to overtime thanks to Chambliss’ clutch dig, Davies finished off the set with an ace.

“We’ve been trying to find a balance between staying loose, having fun, and being goofy, and we did a good job tonight of maintaining our composure while still enjoying it,” Potter said.

Oak Ridge maintained a quick-strike pace in the second set, taking a 6-3 lead on a Emily DeMure tip. The Trojans continued to pressure and pour on points to coast to the win.

In the third set, Hayley Corell had two big blocks to aid the Trojans, and Oak Ridge led 13-8 after a combined Crye/Marisa McConnell block. Chambliss took over and served three straight aces followed by a Crye kill as Troy seized control. Coty got in on the action with a kill that upped the lead to 21-13, and finished the match off with an ace to ice the 25-14 win.

“They just are so much fun, and they make me a better coach. All different personalities, but I think they balance each other out and I feel it’s just the right chemistry,” a grinning Potter said regarding the seven seniors.

“There’s a huge difference between the team that started the season, and the team that’s here now. At the beginning of the year, we all just wanted to win so badly, it was stressful, but now we have a good balance, and we’re having fun,” Davies said.