Troup volleyball team gets state-tourney win
Published 12:00 am Friday, October 14, 2016
They’re not done yet.
The Troup Lady Tigers went on the road and beat Burke County in three straight sets on Thursday in the opening round of the Class AAAA state volleyball tournament.
It was a big moment for Troup’s volleyball program.
The Lady Tigers have been to state before, but they’ve always bowed out in the first round.
Not this time.
Troup dominated the match, handling Burke County in three straight sets to advance to the round of 16.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Troup head coach Jodi Dowden said. “I’m proud of them. They stuck together. They’re a team. They care about each other, they watch out for each other. There’s a lot of leadership, which helps tremendously. And they know how to win.”
Troup finished third in Area 5-AAAA to earn a spot in the state tournament, and it traveled to Burke County, the runner-up from Area 7-AAAA.
While Burke County was the higher seed, Troup was clearly the better team.
Troup opened with a 25-15 win, and it followed that up with a 25-20 win in the second set.
In the third set, Troup dominated from the get-go and won 25-5.
Dowden said the team basically went into the match blind since it didn’t have a scouting report on Burke County.
“We had no idea what to expect when we walked in the gym,” Dowden said. “All we can do is take care of our game. We can’t control what they’re doing. We can only control what we can do.”
Troup’s second-round opponent will be either Ridgeland or Carver-Columbus.
The winner of that match advances to the elite eight.
OF NOTE: For more on Thursday’s big win, see Saturday’s sports section.
Reach Kevin Eckleberry at (706) 884-7311 or on Twitter @lagrangesports