Cherokee – At Wednesday’s press deadline, the Lady Knights were still in the hunt for significant bragging rights in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
Robbinsville (17-8) finished the year fourth in the league, but swept the No. 5-seeded Murphy Lady Bulldogs (8-12) in the quarterfinals of the divisional tournament 25-15, 25-17, 25-22.
After press time, the Lady Knights were slated to face the hosting Cherokee Lady Braves (No. 1, 19-1), which spoiled Robbinsville’s senior night Oct. 10 by delivering a 26-24, 25-20, 25-10 defeat to Graham County’s on-court representatives.
The loss had plenty of bright spots for the Knights, however. Showing they can hang with the conference champions, Robbinsville sprinted to a 2-6 lead in set one, before Cherokee thundered back to break an 8-8 tie and maintained a 1-2 point advantage for the remainder of the segment.
Daphne Barlow looked sharp in the early portion of set two, as the Lady Knights again opened a lead.
Cherokee’s Kyla Moore and Joscelyn Stamper proved to be a tough match-up for Robbinsville as things progressed, however and soon, the Braves held a 20-10 advantage.
Senior Liz Carpenter had seen enough and with the chance to make a difference at the service line, fired off a string of aces that cut the deficit to 20-16. Unfortunately, the flurry proved to be Robbinsville’s last real threat in the contest.
JV, middle school
Robbinsville ended its JV campaign 7-11, after beating Cherokee 25-27, 4-25 on Oct. 10 and downing the Lady Braves in Monday’s tournament opener 25-13, 25-27, 14-16. The semifinal match that followed Monday pitted the Knights against the undefeated Murphy Bulldogs, but Robbinsville made the top seed earn the victory: 14-25, 25-22, 12-15.
After recognizing 10 eighth-graders, Robbinsville Middle (5-7) lost a heartbreaker to Cherokee: 25-23, 23-25, 15-11.