Hobbling Lady ‘Toppers Still Sweep M-East, Notch Sectional Berth – TricitiesSports.com
by STEVE WILMOTH
TriCitiesSports.com
October 11, 2021
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – “No thank you.”
That was Science Hill senior setter Kinley Norris’ response when told that the sprained ankle and fractured foot suffered late in the Lady Hilltoppers district championship win over West Ridge last Thursday would need a minimum of six weeks healing time. ‘
“I said, ‘I’ve got regionals in four days. I’m not about to do that,’” Norris said.
Despite her adamant determination, Norris’ status wasn’t fully decided until Monday afternoon, just hours before Science Hill’s scheduled Region 1-AAA semifinal against Morristown East.
“I got cleared today,” smiled Norris. “My foot is fractured and I pulled a piece of bone off of it and I sprained my ankle, but I’m good.”
Norris gritted out a gutsy 25-assist, four-ace performance in Science Hill’s 25-14, 25-16, 25-19 sweep over the Lady ‘Hurricanes, shying away from none of her responsibilities in the Lady ‘Toppers 5-1 offense.
“Kinley has to go everywhere,” said Science Hill coach Laura Cook. “She plays defense, she blocks, she’s got to run all over the floor and set everything on offense. She’s our quarterback. Having her out here was huge and obviously was a huge plus. She really showed a lot of heart.”
Still, Norris was in obvious discomfort at times and some plays that have become somewhat routine for the Big 5 Setter of the Year, were difficult, if not impossible. But Norris wasn’t coming out, especially after Lia Gay went down in a walk-through earlier in the day.
“It was frustrating, especially on the front row,” added Norris. “We were worried. One of our other girls (Gay) got hurt in practice today. We’re just falling apart.”
It was the Hurricanes that broke apart under the relentless Lady ‘Topper attack.
Middle hitter Jordan Hallman laced 13 kills and served five aces, three of which came in a nine-point service run that closed out the third set and the match.
“My senior season is on the line here, so you really can’t go back there and just get it in,” explained Hallman. “You’ve got to go back there and want to hit someone in the face.”
After the match, Hallman was helping the ailing Norris to post-match interviews while marveling at the discolored foot that was being revealed as Norris was removing her tape and donning a walking boot.
“It was amazing to see her out there, it was the best news never,” said Hallman. “She carries our team, she really does. She’s the energy, she’s the quarterback and having her out there made all the difference.”
Autumn Holmes matched Hallman with a team-high 13 kills and ten digs. Olivia Kneisley came through with seven kills and digs. Libero Lexi Kalogeros also recorded ten digs and was a frustrating nemesis to the Morristown East attack.
“Lexi’s coverage after our hitters got blocked, that really takes the wind out of your sails when she’s picking those up,” noted Cook. “They were a tough blocking team.”
Maddie Fuller came up with eight digs and also served four aces, part of 20 aces on the evening by the Lady ‘Toppers with only five service areas.
“You always want to start strong and start fast,” continued Cook. “We also wanted to limit our errors on our side and clean up our serves. I thought we did a better job of that too tonight.”
Science Hill (26-4) faces West Ridge yet again Tuesday evening for the Region 1-AAA title. The winner will host a sectional match on Thursday while the runner-up must travel in order to earn a berth in next week’s state tournament.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Hallman. “I want this thing to go as far as it can. All the challenges that we’ve had makes it just that much sweeter.”
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