Note: The volleyball team’s state playoff match occurred on Tuesday, Oct. 18, falling after the DCN print deadline. For updates, please visit our website at www.dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County varsity volleyball team secured a place in the class 3A state playoffs after winning three of five matches at the Region 7-3A tournament hosted by Wesleyan on Tuesday, Oct. 11, and Thursday, Oct. 13.
But head coach Tanya Porter and her team are far from finished with their efforts this season.
By finishing third in the region, the Lady Tigers will be matched up with Region 8 runner-up Hebron Christian Academy at the state playoffs on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
(Story continues below)
“I want them to compete for each other,” head coach Tanya Porter said. “I want them to remember that they are playing for the girls on the court with them.”
Coming into the region tournament as the third seed, the Lady Tigers brought their skills and energy to defeat Pickens and Gilmer with a loss to White County in between on Tuesday.
Having clinched a state playoff spot at that point, Dawson fought for seeding on Thursday.
In the first match against Lumpkin County, the Lady Tigers lost the first set before staging a spirited rally to win in three sets.
While many individuals stepped up in that comeback, it was freshman Hope Selzer who rose to the occasion.
Normally used on defense, Selzer was tasked with both her usual role and to help out offensively.
With hitter Abby Felkai on the bench out of an abundance of caution following an injury on Tuesday, Selzer played with steely determination against Lumpkin.
“I was super proud of her as a freshman,” Porter said. “She stepped up, she’s a competitor, she’s fierce [and] was all over the floor tonight. She out-performed her age, her maturity — she killed it.”
Another meeting with White County happened after the Lumpkin match but Dawson fell short again — this time with a promising first set followed up by a second set that never got going.
Porter assessed Tuesday night’s playoff-clinching performance as an overall success, with improvements needed for the team to maximize its potential at the state playoffs.
“We were fatigued [at the end] but battled, dug a little deeper and realized what was on the line,” Porter said. “I felt like the [younger players] kept their heads and didn’t think they got overwhelmed by the magnitude of the game.”
After an opening win over Pickens with a score of 25-19, 25-10, the Lady Tigers would face one of their fiercest competitors all season in White County.
Arguably the loudest match all night between the players and crowd, the tussle between region foes would go to three sets for the third time in four meetings.
The Lady Tigers survived the first set, seeing a 15-5 lead dissolve to 20-19 — only to rattle off five straight points to close out the set.
After allowing the Lady Warriors to first reach 20 points in the second set, Dawson made a late charge but fell short 23-25.
The mental exhaustion of the second-set loss would get to Dawson in the decisive third set, with White County executing well — particularly at the net — to win 15-5 and even the season series at two matches apiece.
“I didn’t think that we kept our energy level consistent throughout the three sets,” Porter said. “We put a lot into that first set [and] the emotions were really high. I thought we played a good second set [but] once we lost the lead we weren’t able to get it back.”
Dawson would then defeat Gilmer 25-13, 25-20 in an elimination match to clinch a state playoff spot and play Thursday.
The Lady Tigers, now with a 26-17 record, travel to Dacula to play Hebron Christian Academy. The winner of that match will face either Sandy Creek or Coahulla Creek.