Oak Ridge wasn’t going to move up or down the District 13-6A standings no matter what Tuesday night. So playing a team like The Woodlands – a program that reached the state tournament two years ago and went three rounds deep last year – with nothing at stake was actually the perfect scenario.
The War Eagles looked like that playoff team with killer instincts at times, but the Highlanders, ranked No. 10 in the state poll, ultimately won 23-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-22.
Oak Ridge (33-11, 10-6) saw its two-match winning streak end to conclude the regular season.
The War Eagles will compete in the Class 6A Division II tournament starting Monday with a 5:30 p.m. home match with Westfield in the bi-district round.
The Woodlands (34-8, 14-2) has won eight straight matches and have dropped just eight sets in district play.
Oak Ridge, which has now lost 13 straight matches to the Highlanders dating back to 2018, hadn’t won a set over them since August of last year. The Woodlands swept in four of the last six meetings.
“I don’t think we could have scheduled someone better,” Oak Ridge coach Tommie Lynne Sledge said. “We could have just been playing to play. I think we were going to see everything we need to see against them. A good block, a good offense, good defense (and) good serves. So it was definitely something that will help us fine tune what we need for next week.”
It was a competitive start to the evening with 12 ties and five lead chances. Oak Ridge took the lead at 22-21 on one of Gaby Santiago’s 18 kills on the night.
Another Santiago kill and two Highlander service errors clinched the 1-0 advantage.
“I’m super happy we were able to finish,” Sledge said. “25-23 is hard to finish. I’m really proud of the whole match of continuing to fight back. There were times where we were down a little bit and still made it look respectable. That made me really happy.”
Leila Ceaser helped Oak Ridge with four of her six kills on the night in the second set, but The Woodlands, down 6-5, went on a 6-0 run and never fell behind again.
With the exception of a 3-3 tie early in the third set, The Woodlands maintained control and built out to an 18-6 lead.
Oak Ridge battled back with the help of Santiago, Ally Luke and ace by Riley Dube to make it more respectable eight-point defeat.
Oak Ridge stayed in contention down the stretch in the fourth set and were within two points at 24-22 after an attack error by The Woodlands. The Highlanders took the next two points to close it out.
Oak Ridge sophomore Micah Rusher put on a huge performance against The Woodlands at the net. Rusher had eight kills and seven blocks.
“I think she was resilient on fighting back,” Sledge said of Rusher. “She still battles that a little bit. But, you know, she’s extremely coachable right now. That’s all you can ask for from a kid, especially being a sophomore. When you have a big block in front of you, you sometimes second guess what to do. Everytime I told her to do something, she’s bounced back and did exactly what she needed to do. And that’s all you can ask for.”
Senior Bradi Rhodes had 22 assists and seven digs. Santiago led in digs with 16 while Ceaser had 12. Luke finished with three kills while Jade Clay had two. Guen Blackburn had 16 assists.
Oak Ridge won’t play a tune-up this week ahead of its second consecutive trip to the playoffs.
Oak Ridge volleyball players Leila Ceaser (top left), Riley Dube (white jersey), Guen Blackburn (11) and Ally Luke (14) are seen during last week’s match against Willis. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)