D-B defeats Ravenwood for state volleyball crown

By John Moorehouse

Published October 30th, 2009 | 1 Comments

Dobyns-Bennett Lady Indians volleyball team. Photo courtesy of Eric Peterson.

MURFREESBORO — Make room in the trophy case.

For the first time in school history, Dobyns-Bennett reigns as state champion in volleyball.

The Lady Indians completed a perfect run through the TSSAA Class AAA tournament Friday, sweeping Ravenwood 25-22, 25-21, 25-18 in the championship match at Middle Tennessee State.

“It’s an awesome feeling right now and I don’t think any of us have really embraced it yet, that we just made history,” Lady Indians junior setter Jamie Rutledge said. “It’s awesome.”

D-B (52-3) proved to be the unstoppable force in this tournament. The Lady Indians did not drop a single game, winning all four of their matches at state in a sweep.

Of the three losses sustained in the regular season — one each to Ravenwood, Independence and Sullivan South — the Tribe ended up winning the season series with those opponents counting postseason play.

“In 55 matches you’ve only lost three times? That’s perfection almost,” D-B coach Kathi Shaffer said.

It’s also the first state title for Shaffer, who wrapped up her 26th campaign as a coach.

Without question, Shaffer said, this was the most talented team she ever had — though she said it took more than talent to achieve a goal set on Oct. 31, 2008, when the Lady Indians fell to Brentwood in the state semifinals.

“These girls genuinely love each other. And that’s what it takes,” Shaffer said. “There’s no jealousies or drama. I know that’s hard to believe when you’re dealing with girls, but we don’t do drama.”

The first two games in the state championship match provided some nail-biting moments.

The lead seesawed back and forth in the opener, and the score was deadlocked at 22 after Ravenwood’s front line blocked an attack by Megan Devine. D-B’s senior standout responded with two kills and an ace to help the Tribe draw first blood.

D-B led from wire to wire in game two, but the Lady Raptors got within one point on three separate occasions in the late going, the last at 22-21. Again Devine took the lead, knocking down the winner on three straight points to put the Lady Indians on the cusp of a state championship.

A decisive third-game run all but sealed it for the Lady Indians, who turned a 6-6 tie into a 13-6 advantage during an impressive run with libero Lori Peterson serving.

Ravenwood — which finished the season 51-4, with three of those losses coming to D-B — never recovered.

Devine was named MVP of the championship match, tallying 25 digs, 19 kills and a pair of aces. For the tournament, she compiled 68 kills and 107 digs.

“She wore out the tournament,” Shaffer said. “I thought she just, by far, was the best player here. I thought Meredith (Hardy) was the second best player here.”

Hardy notched 14 kills and four blocks. Rutledge doled out 35 assists. Peterson had 27 digs and four aces.

Devine, one of two seniors along with outside hitter Caryn Foehringer, called this the “best season ever.”

“I’m so proud of my team. They’re all amazing,” Devine said. “We just played together and we played to win. We came out here to take care of business, and we won a state championship.”

“It means so much,” Foehring- er said of capturing the first state title in D-B history. “To have it in our senior year, it’s even more amazing.”

Foehringer’s stat line was modest — two blocks and two kills — but she played a key role all season, one equivalent to that of a utility infielder in baseball.

“Her potential is unreal,” Shaffer said. “She’s somebody that can play somewhere (in college). She’s a diamond in the rough.”

“They deserve this more than anyone else in the world,” Hardy said of the team’s two seniors. “They’ve been great, and they’ve been supportive all four years. They definitely deserve it.”

The Lady Indians had to wait a little longer to complete their tournament run. Their match started about an hour late after the Class A and Class AA matches concluded, and trophy ceremonies for both took place concurrently. And so, D-B and Ravenwood had to watch as other teams experienced the highs and lows of state championship volleyball.

“I know we were all getting chills,” Rutledge said.

By the time the sun had set, the Lady Indians wrapped a historic victory that gave the entire D-B faction goose bumps.

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Im so happy that D-B won the state volleyball ! Congrats to you girls who worked so hard for so long to get there !

Phillip Byram | 11/1/2009 - 3:49 PM - ( Comment

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