The Trinity Lady Raiders came into this week’s 12th District Tournament with back-to-back losses, but coach Daniel Morris and his team were able to turn the tables when they met Butler County in the first round of the tourney despite falling in an early hole.
THS took down the Lady Bears 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-8) after dropping the first two sets and going on a rally to win the match.
Morris said he knew coming in the other teams in the district would have eyes on them.
“We are the team in the district that has a target on our backs. It’s placed by our district opponents because we have had success the last couple of years in winning games in tournament play,” he said. “We have had to use that target as a motivation for our teams when playing any district opponent. We know that we are going to get everything from them so we have to come ready no matter who is the opponent.”
Hannah Nash finished with 24 kills while Jenna McDowell added 12. Josie Aull led the way with 41 assists while Abby Payne (21 digs), Georgia Howard (23 digs) and Taylor Pedley (24 digs) had solid defensive nights for the Lady Raiders.
Trinity now advances to Thursday’s final where they’ll take on Grayson County.
The Lady Cougars have won the last four matches against the Raiders, with Trinity’s last victory over GC coming in the 2018 district title game under former coach Adam Huff.
“We need to come out with lots of energy and aggression,” Morris said. “Grayson has had our number the last couple of matchups. They are a well-coached team and play very well together. If we can play smart and aggressive and cut down on some of our silly and simple mistakes, I believe we can come out on top and once again be 12th District champs.”
Trinity and Grayson County take the court 6 p.m. Thursday at Butler County.
