Robbinsville, Murphy vie for Smoky Mountain Conference supremacy
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Reality sets in for Halee Anderson, Gabby Hooper, Kennedy Cable, Gracye Burchfield, Karlyn Matheson and Liz Ayers (from left), moments after Robbinsville scored the winning point in Wednesday's 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 sweep over the hosting Murphy in the finals of the Smoky Mountain Conference tournament finals. Photos by Kevin Hensley/editor@grahamstar.com -
The Robbinsville Lady Knights won their first-ever Smoky Mountain Conference tournament championship Wednesday night, sweeping co-division champions Murphy in the finals. Kneeling in front (from left) are Gabby Hooper, Karlyn Matheson and Liz Ayers. Standing in back (from left) are assistant coach Dede Brooms, Halee Anderson, Kennedy Cable, coach James Keefer, Ally Ayers, Yeika Jimenez, Kensley Phillips, Gracye Burchfield, Karcee Dooley, Ivy Odom and head coach Kadey Phillips.
Murphy – Any questions that arose over who the true Smoky Mountain Conference regular-season champion was – Robbinsville and Murphy both tied for first place, sharing the distinction – were answered Wednesday night.
Robbinsville (21-2) won the rubber match between the two programs on the Lady Bulldogs' home court in a stunning 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 sweep, clinching another first in the process: the Lady Knights' inaugural conference tournament championship.
"Before the game, I told the girls, 'We've fought so hard this season; they believe they're the better team, so this is our chance to prove to everyone else that we're the better team,'" said Robbinsville head coach Kadey Phillips. "For them to come out and do it in three (sets) exceeded everybody's expectations."
Murphy (20-3) built a 12-9 lead in set one of Wednesday's tournament finale, which was the first 3-point lead of the set at that juncture. Phillips called a timeout and Robbinsville came back to the tune of a 7-0 run, thanks largely to the powerful hitting of Karlyn Matheson and the blocking combination of Karcee Dooley and Gracye Burchfield. Robbinsville went on to lead 20-15, but the Lady Bulldogs capitalized on a few Lady Knights mistakes to tie things at 21-all. However, Robbinsville would re-group down the stretch to clinch the segment.
The Knights struggled to defend the Lady Bulldogs' attack early in set two, with strong hits from Torin Rogers, Hailey Bowman and Olivia Payne all helping Murphy open an 11-5 advantage. But some mental errors on the Lady Dogs' part helped Robbinsville battle back and mixed with Matheson's blocks, Yeika Jimenez's kills, Liz Ayers' serves and the back-row work of both Gabby Hooper, Halee Anderson and Ivy Odom, the Knights would take a 2-0 advantage.
The deciding set was another back-and-forth affair early, with neither side able to grab a discernible advantage. Murphy looked to be in full control late, but some miscommunication on the court proved costly, as the Lady Knights pulled back ahead and won the match.
"It took everybody tonight," Phillips added. "Even the players that haven't been standing out this season were standouts tonight. If we got in any kind of slump, we quickly got out of it. They were no down-faces; they encouraged each other and played together as well as I've ever seen."
Robbinsville has now won its first-ever Smoky Mountain Conference title, clinched its first 20-win season and now can lay claim to its first conference tournament title. Not bad for a team comprised of just three seniors, but the group has played together since youth league days in third grade. It also helps that Matheson leads the conference in both kills and aces, while Ayers has put up more assists than anyone else in the division this year.
The win also helped erase the bad taste left after Murphy downed Robbinsville in four sets on its home court Oct. 3. The Knights won the first battle this season in five sets Sept. 5, which marked the first time Robbinsville had bested the Lady Bulldogs since 2015.
Up next
Now with conference play out of the way – for the time being – Robbinsville shifts its focus to the postseason. Playoff seeding will take place Thursday, with the first round beginning Saturday. The Lady Knights could very well get the No. 1 seed and would host Bradford Preparatory Academy (No. 32) if so.
"Before this game tonight, I told the girls, 'For conference, yes, we did tie for first. We could have sealed it, but we decided to take a more difficult route,'" Phillips said. "But we've done it, so now we've set ourselves on a easier road in the state playoffs.
"I hope we can use that to our advantage."
Check out The Graham Star's social media accounts (Facebook or Twitter, @thegrahamstar) Thursday for news on playoff seeding and the start time for the first round.