CALEDONIA — Outside hitter Tori Brooks and middle blocker Cheyenne Ruth realized their team needed a lift at the same time.
Brooks and Ruth responded with back-to-back kills to spark a 13-1 run for the Caledonia High School volleyball team.
Caledonia took control from there, beating Cleveland 3-0 Tuesday night in the opening round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class II playoffs. Set scores were 25-14, 25-8, 25-13.
Caledonia will play host to Lewisburg at 6 p.m. Thursday in the second round. Four victories are needed to win a state championship.
“The biggest challenge for us all year has been playing a complete match,” Brooks said. “Sometimes we get down and we have a stretch where we don’t play well. When that happens, we get together as a team and somebody gives us that look that we need to get it together. Once we put it together and play better, we are usually in good shape.”
One of those tough stretches took place early Tuesday when a series of unforced errors found Caledonia in a 13-12 hole. The back-to-back kills followed by a strong serving performance from Maddy Suggs and Kaylee Jernigan helped pave the way in the first set.
“Our service game has been really good all year,” Caledonia coach Samantha Brooks said. “When we really needed a lift, we can usually reel off four or five really strong serves in a row. That is probably our strongest strength. It can help when you really don’t give away points like that in the service game.”
Ruth liked her team’s chances after it overcame the slow start. She said the team felt good after it grabbed the momentum late in the first set.
“We have had some slow starts, so we are kind of used to it,” Ruth said. “We just try to encourage. That is one of my jobs as a senior. When somebody makes a mistake, you have to lift them up and encourage them. You can’t let one or two bad points lead to several more. We were a little laid back early, but once we started attacking things went really well for us.”
Caledonia (27-5) rode the strong finish to the first set to a dominating effort in the second set. The Lady Confederates had eight service aces in the set.
“It’s been a challenge for us to play a complete match,” coach Brooks said. “I thought we really did that. We had a slow start in the first and third sets, but it wasn’t something major we had to battle back from. I don’t think anybody can question how well we can play when we play together. It’s about mentally locked in throughout an entire match.
“Late in the first set, we played really well and that carried over.”
With its season on the brink, Cleveland sprinted to an 11-5 advantage in the third set. Caledonia responded with an 8-1 run to take the lead. It closed the match by winning 12 of 13 points.
“This team has played together for a long time, and I think that really helps,” Tori Brooks said. “We are just as close off the court as we are on the court. I think that helps when things aren’t going our way. In volleyball, you really need good communication, and the fact that we know each other really helps with that.”
Tori Brooks had nine kills and 17 assists. Bailie Cross had three kills and 10 assists. Jernigan had seven kills and an assist. Jensen Reed had two kills and 17 assists. Ruth had five kills. Suggs had a kill, attack, two digs, and two assists.
Caledonia has been a constant in the playoffs with Brooks as its coach. This season, the squad is ready to make a run at a state title.
“This team is excited,” Ruth said. “We know what we are capable of doing. We just can’t get caught up in the moment. We have to keep doing what we are doing and not get too anxious. If we stay within ourselves, we have a chance.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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