By Rob Tate
SportCast Media
It looked like Oak Ridge was going to roll Tuesday. But Conroe threw a swerve at them and made things a little more interesting.
Just another night in District 13-6A volleyball.
Oak Ridge took its second straight win when all was set and done – 25-6, 26-28, 25-14, 25-18 in front of another lively crowd.
“I do think it was an up and down night,” Oak Ridge coach Tommie Lynne Sledge said. “But I do think they did a good job making adjustments wherever I told them to make adjustments.”
The War Eagles (25-6, 3-1) remained in the early playoff picture while Conroe (9-15, 1-2) lost for the first time in three matches. The Tigers hadn’t dropped a set during that stretch.
Oak Ridge absolutely cruised early.
But it got challenging in the second set.
Conroe leveraged its way to a 17-9 advantage as Kendall Glover, Talia Padilla, Anastacha McGowen – among others – put down points
Oak Ridge battled back to a 24-all tie when sophomore Micah Rusher put in consecutive points on a kill and a block.
Oak Ridge got a kill from Gaby Santiago to go up 25-24 but Conroe took four of the next five points to head to the third set tied.
“I think Conroe did a great job flipping their lineup on the second set and then making adjustments throughout the match,” Sledge said. “I think they fought really hard and what they were doing to be successful the first set, they came out defending it.”
The rest of the night went to script for the War Eagles.
Oak Ridge used a 10-1 run in the third set to pull well ahead big. The fourth and final set, Oak Ridge led wire to wire.
The War Eagles’ tougher district matches have been on the road, including a five-set marathon dropped at College Park a week ago.
“It’s exciting and I love that this is what our district brings every game,” Sledge said. “You’ve got to bring it with a crowd and excitement. I think, to me, I enjoy the battle between crowd and that environment for the girls because that’s like a playoff environment. So we’re practicing a playoff environment now and executing through it.”
A week after making 56 assists in two matches, senior Bradi Rhodes assisted on 34 points against the Tigers. She also had three kills and six digs.
“She’s a true leader and has been,” Sledge said. “I think I’m enjoying her getting in the offense more and that’s taking some relief off her hitters. But when she sets them, that’s on them to get the job done because it’s a beautiful set.”
Santiago, with 17 kills, and Leila Ceaser, with 12 kills, were the prime beneficiaries of the those beautiful sets. Senior Layla Porter added eight kills while Rusher had six.
Santiago had a double-double with a team-high 24 digs. Caesar added 14 and Guen Blackburn added eight.
Rusher led in blocks with three while Rhodes, Santiago and Samantha Daley each had four aces.
Oak Ridge is back on the road Friday for a 5:30 p.m. non-district match at Klein Cain.
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