VOLLEYBALL: Oak Ridge wins in the fourth set 3-1 against College Park

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — The Lady War Eagles took over College Park in four tough sets in their second round of district matches, improving their district record to 7-2.

After two 25-21 victories in the first two sets for Oak Ridge, sophomore setter, Carly Graham, went down with an injury at the end of the second set. Graham’s temporary, replacement who had never started as a setter, through the girls for a mental loop in the third set, and College Park caught up with a 25-23 win.

“To have a little girl who hasn’t set all year step up and have to start the set setting can throw a mental game at you and to see your setter that you have all year go down,” Head Coach Tommie Sledge said. “I still felt like we started strong, and they worked really hard to not get too much of a gap. Mentally, that’s tough for young girls, and we forget sometimes that we’re playing a game, and we have to remind them that we’re playing a game, and they are teenagers.”

Graham wasn’t out for long and returned in time to lead the team with 11 kills and 35 assists for the match. The Lady War Eagles pulled through in the fourth set 25-19, winning the match 3-1.

“I have said it from day one that this team is a great team together; they’re very resilient together, and we’ve battled every match we’ve played this season, not just district but from the very beginning,” Sledge said. “We’ve had some ups and downs, some bad luck, but that’s a part of the game, and how they react to it just impresses me more and more.”

The Lady War Eagles will play at home against The Woodlands Lady Highlanders Tuesday, October 20 at 5:30 p.m.