SBA Advances to State Quarterfinals

(CORDOVA, TN - October 12, 2021) - St. Benedict and Lipscomb Academy met in the first round of the Division II-AA girls' volleyball bracket and the matchup more than lived up to expectations. In front of a raucous SBA student section and a sizeable group of Lipscomb fans who made the trip from Nashville, the two teams played five sets on Tuesday night.

SBA jumped out to an early lead in the first set with strong play from junior Gabby Huntley (10 kills, 6 aces, and 2 blocks) and some support from the home crowd. Lipscomb recovered from some early jitters to tighten the gap, but the deficit was ultimately too big and SBA took the first set, 25-20.

The tide turned early in the second set when the Eagles began to have some trouble handling serves. The Mustangs built large leads in the next two sets, taking two in a row by scores of 25-14 and 25-12.

Things were looking bleak for SBA midway through the fourth set when junior Kara Crunk exited with an injury and Lipscomb held another lead. However, the squad rallied at just the right time and recovered to even the match at 2-2 with a runaway 25-16 set victory.

With the momentum on their side and the home fans back in form, the Eagles never looked back as freshman Teri Brooks (13 kills, 4 blocks) spiked a few winners and they rolled to a 15-10 victory for the set and the match.

St. Benedict (11-7) moves on to face Ensworth in the Division II-AA Quarterfinals this weekend.