Published: October 20, 2009 04:09 am      

Ashland, Rowan move on

RACELAND — The task was steep for Ashland: take down a Raceland team hot off of a district title and playing on its home court.

That’s exactly what the VolleyCats did, however, surprising the Lady Rams in two sets to move on in the 16th Region tournament.

Comfort was a rare commodity in the first tilt, as the largest lead of the set was a mere four points.

Raceland would score four straight points to tie it up, and both teams traded blows down the stretch before Ashland finally took the upper hand, winning 27-25.

That trend of matching point-for-point continued through the early stages of the second game, as both teams refused to relent, winding up tied at 10.

Things then turned the way of the orange and black, with Raceland going on a 9-1 run to take a commanding lead.

Ashland wouldn’t stay down for long, however, as the VolleyCats stormed back with a 8-0 run of their own to tie the set back up at 20. Three consecutive points by Raceland had the home crowd on their feet, in anticipation of forcing a third set. That would be the closest the Lady Rams would come to victory, however, as Ashland rattled off five straight points of its own to seal a 25-23 win.

“Anytime you get into the regionals, it’s a good win,” Ashland head coach Jeffrey Huff said following his squad’s victory. “The teams that are here deserve to be here. This is a tough draw, with the teams that are in our bracket. We knew we’d have our hands full tonight. Both teams played really well, and it was just a matter of a few little things that came out in our favor. Raceland’s had an excellent season, and in all likelihood, they were the hottest team in this tournament. We were lucky to get by them.”

In the first match of the evening, Rowan County also clinched a spot in the regional finals, defeating West Carter in two sets.

The Lady Vikings used a 7-0 run to spark a 25-11 win in the first set, never trailing by more than two points. The Lady Comets wouldn’t go quietly, however, opening up the second game with a 4-0 run of their own. The game would end up tied at seven, but West Carter would get no closer than within three points later in the game, as Rowan County pulled away for a 25-15 victory.

“We’ve talked a lot, heading into this tournament, about just playing steady,” said Rowan County head coach Steve Walters. “If we get good serves over, have good communication, play smart at the net, take what we have and not try to create too much, then we’ll be okay. I think that’s basically what went on here. We forced them into a lot of free-ball situations, and we really just got to play our tempo once that happened.

“No matter what we do, we say that the biggest run our opponent’s going to get on us is three points,” Walters added. “We make adjustments, and if they score three, we’re going to come back and get there, but that’s what we try to limit it to.”

Though they didn’t quite limit their opponent to that extent, that strategy proved successful for the Lady Vikings, as the longest run mounted by West Carter was the four-point stretch that opened up the second set.

Ashland and Rowan County advance to Wednesday's semifinals. First-round play resumes tonight with Russell playing East Carter and Rose Hill meeting Fleming County.