Lady War Eagles roll to ninth straight win, topple College Park Cavaliers in four

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- The Oak Ridge Lady War Eagles (24-3, 4-0) continue to soar through 16-6A district play as they toppled the College Park Cavaliers (20-6, 1-2); 25-19, 28-26, 22-25, 26-24, at College Park High School. Oak Ridge has now won nine straight games dating back to August 23rd.

“We came out competing and ready to fight,” said Oak Ridge head coach Tommie Lynne Sledge. “Just like every team in our district, no one is going to go down without a fight.”

Leaders for the Lady War Eagles were Victoria Harris with 12 kills and 16 digs. Carly Graham had 11 kills and 15 digs, and Jackie Ward had 23 assists. Raigen Cianciulli had 24 digs in the match.

For the Lady Cavaliers, Emily Thorson led the charge with 12 kills and 20 digs. Kennedi Smith had 11 kills and 19 digs. Hannah Erwin had 20 digs, and Savannah Rutledge added 17 digs to the total.

Oak Ridge started the match quickly, scoring the first three points of the match, but College Park came roaring back. With Macey Rabson serving, the Cavaliers went on a five-point scoring spree to make the score 5-3 College Park. After a Haley Sobosle kill to the far court for College Park, the Cavaliers grabbed a 9-8 lead. Oak Ridge’s Victoria Harris got in on the fun and slammed a kill to the near side to make the score 10-9 Oak Ridge, and a see-saw battle ensued. With Brooke Clark serving, Oak Ridge went on a four-point run, highlighted by a Harris kill to make the score 18-15 Oak Ridge. Momentum stayed with the Lady War Eagles for the rest of the set as Raigen Cianciulli hit a drop shot to take a 24-19 lead, and a kill by Harris ended the set at 25-19 Oak Ridge.

The second game started with similar intensity to the first, and after a back-row kill by Harris, the Lady War Eagles had jumped out to a 4-2 lead. After an ace and a kill by Thorson, the Cavaliers grabbed a 13-11 lead, and Thorson continued to dominate at serve until a Harris kill ended the run, putting the score 14-12 College Park. A kill by Lady Cavalier Macey Rabson, evened the score at 18-18, and the second game was going to come down to who could execute the best down the stretch. A strong kill by Carly Graham followed by an ace, gave Oak Ridge the lead, 22-20. A Clark kill to center court made the tight set 23-21 Lady War Eagles. With Savannah Rutledge serving for College Park, the score was leveled at 24. With tension high, clutch back-to-back kills by Clark resulted in Oak Ridge claiming the second set 28-26.

“We played with a lot of heart tonight, and really wanted to show that we are competitors in this district and you can’t overlook us,” said Sledge.

Despite being behind by two games, the Lady Cavaliers came out in the third as a determined group, jumping out to a 3-1 after a kill cross-court by Rabson. A block by Kennedi Smith and Kayla Black gave College Park a 4-1 edge, and College Park appeared ready to break away. A kill by Rabson on an overpass made the score 9-6 Lady Cavaliers, as they maintained their lead during the early part of the third game. After a few strong rallies, a kill to the corner by Graham evened the score at 10, and we were in for another tight game. A Rabson ace opened the score a bit with College Park garnering a 16-13 advantage, and a kill for Emily Thorson got the score to 19-15 Lady Cavaliers, forcing the Lady War Eagles to take time. After the timeout, a smart dropshot by Clark brought the score to 21-19 College Park, and the third game tightened. A crisp kill from the back row by Thorson created a 22-20 College Park score, and we were coming down to the final points in the third game, just like the second. A ball hit just long by Oak Ridge and a point finished by Kayla Black got the Lady Cavaliers on the board with a 25-22 win, sending the match to a fourth game with Oak Ridge ahead, 2-1.

College Park continued where they left off in the third game to open the fourth, taking a 2-0 lead to start the scoring. With Kennedi Smith serving, the Lady Cavaliers opened a 6-2 lead, highlighted by a Black kill through a block. A kill by Layce Neeley for Oak Ridge brought the score to 8-5 Lady Cavaliers, and the game had a similar feel to the third. A Smith kill, followed by an ace opened the lead to 15-10 to College Park, and momentum appeared to be on their side. A combo block by Jackie Ward and Layce Neeley got the score a little closer for Oak Ridge at 16-13, but a return of favor combo block by Rabson and Sobosle for the Cavaliers got the score to 18-13 College Park. A Harris kill drew the score to 18-15, and Oak Ridge was looking for a comeback. After a few Lady Cavalier errors brought the game to 20-18 College Park, a Clark kill got the score to 20-19 Lady Cavaliers, and we were in yet another close finish. A block by Graham and McCoy gave the Lady War Eagles their first lead of the set at 21-20.

“Just fighting back, it’s what we’ve done all season,” said Sledge. “We have each other’s backs no matter what.”

A Smith ace evened the score at 23-23, and the crowd was energized. A kill by Clark gave Oak Ridge a game point at 24-23, but a point on a tipped shot by Thorson evened it at 24, sending us to extra points for the second time in the match. With the crowd cheering on, the Lady War Eagles earned the next two points, culminating in a kill by Harris to take the game 26-24

“We just waited too long to establish ourselves tonight,” said College Park head coach Candice Collins. “ You can’t do that against a good team.”

Both teams will continue district play on Friday, with College Park taking on Summer Creek and Oak Ridge traveling to a showdown with the Woodlands high school.