Landrum volleyball two wins away from third straight state title
Published 6:31 pm Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Going into Monday night&squo;s quarterfinal playoff matchup against Greenville Tech, the Landrum volleyball team had not lost a set, much less a match, to any 1A school it had played this season. The Lady Cards had no problem keeping that streak intact as they easily dispatched the Lady Warriors in three games. Landrum defeated Greenville Tech 25-14, 25-10, 25-17 to advance to the semifinal round of the state 1A playoffs. They will play at home against Southside Christian at
6 p.m. on Wednesday night. From the opening moments, it looked like either Greenville Tech was playing in slow motion or Landrum was stuck on fast forward; either way it was clear that the Lady Cardinals were the superior team. They always seemed to be in the right spot, they made spectacular saves, and they also had outside hitter Caroline Cann. Cann finished the night with 11 kills; four in the first game, three in the second and four in game three. A lot of them ended up four or five rows into the stands after ricocheting off of helpless Warrior defenders. Defensive specialist Molly Corn also had a good game with 16 digs and eight kills. Middle hitter Erica Doty added nine kills and senior setter Sarah Bruce had 25 assists. Landrum jumped out to a 9-4 lead in game one, but Greenville Tech came back to tie it at 9-9. The Lady Cardinals took 16 of the next 21 points to win by 11. In the second game Landrum&squo;s early 10-3 lead wouldn&squo;t be challenged. Greenville Tech couldn&squo;t get anything going offensively and had no way of stopping Landrum&squo;s efficient attack. The Lady Warriors did show some life in the third set, managing to stay close until, at 14-12, Landrum pulled away with six straight points. Cardinal head coach Denise Riske was all smiles after the match. She said her players were &uot;focused, relaxed, and played their game.&uot; Landrum (23-3) is now just two wins away from its third consecutive state title.