The Trinity Lady Raiders’ stay in the 3rd Region Tournament may have been brief in 2020 but the future is bright for Daniel Morris and his squad as they graduate just one senior.
Trinity fell 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-17) to the 11th District champion Breckinridge County but Morris said some of his players saw the court for the first time in a region tournament on Tuesday.
After falling in the 12th District final to Grayson County last week, Morris said he had one message for his team going into this week.
“Play comfortably,” he said. “We had to have a last-minute change to our lineup going into district championship, rocked our world. We never ran that lineup before. We played comfortably tonight. We found our positions, played the way we were supposed to play and gave Breck a run for their money.”
The Lady Tigers cruised in the first set, taking it 25-13 but the Lady Raiders weren’t ready to have their season ended just yet as they went on a run in the second set.
After going down 16-11, Trinity roared back and tied it at 17-17 before it was a back-and-forth battle until the end of the set.
With the scored tied 23-23, the Lady Tigers grabbed the last two points to take the set 25-23.
“We were aggressive,” Morris said of his team in the second. “We were aggressive, we swung. We caught Breck where we wanted them with Player of the Year (Audrey Whitworth) in the back row, but we were all on them.”
Despite having a young team, Morris said he wants them to know mistakes are okay and that they’re a sign of growing.
“You’ve got to drill in their head volleyball is the sport that you have to forgive and forget, quickly,” he said. “If not, it starts a domino effect. They score 8-10 points off in a row, domino effect. Cut it in half. That’s what I preach. When they start making a run, you cut it in half.”
Hannah Nash led the Lady Raiders with 10 kills while Caroline Hall (13 digs), Bailey Millay (2 digs), Abby Payne (8 digs), Josie Aull (ace, 15 assists, 12 digs), Allie Barnett (kill, 3 digs), Jenna McDowell (4 kills, block), Taylor Pedley (12 digs), Kenzie McDowell (kill, assist, dig) and Corli Mills (dig) all contributed for the Trinity in the loss.
The Lady Raiders only graduate one senior in 2021 as Jenna McDowell earned All-3rd Region Tournament Team honors Tuesday, but more importantly, was a leader on and off the court for Trinity this season.
She said she embraced that role.
“I kind of feel like I’m the mom of the team,” she said. “Everybody comes to me, they’re like ‘hey, I’m struggling with this.’ I’m like no, you’re good. You’re doing great. I just help them and I feel like the mom and leaving is going to be so hard.”
McDowell has been a Lady Raiders all four years of her high school career and said it’s been special watching her teammates grow this season.
“Honestly, it’s so astounding to see how much they can get better and how well they can just play,” she said. “You see when they start in the summer and their conditioning, then you look and it’s the end of the year and it’s a whole new ballgame. It makes me feel really proud of them.”
When asked what she’ll remember the most, McDowell didn’t hesitate.
“I think I’m going to remember the camaraderie of the girls,” she said. “When everything gets down and you’re having trouble, you look at somebody and they’re ready to just cheer you on and say ‘hey, you’re doing great. You’ve got it.’ I’m just going to remember the feeling of knowing somebody has your back.”
With every other player on the roster returning in 2021, including Cassidy Morris that missed the year with injury, Morris said the region tournament is a chance to grow.
“That’s our goal every year,” he said. “We get to region and we let these young ones experience the environment that we’ve had. Breck brings a crowd every year, Breck brings a crowd every year to the region tournament. Trinity’s going to be that way one day. We’re going to bring that crowd in and we’re going to be the aggressor.”
